Cllr David Fothergill responds to the Government’s decision to make vaccination a condition of deployment for anyone working in a CQC-registered care home in England for residents requiring nursing or personal care
Responding to the Government’s decision to make vaccination a condition of deployment for anyone working in a CQC-registered care home in England for residents requiring nursing or personal care, Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“This is a highly sensitive and complex issue, which reflects the wide range of views from across social care and it remains absolutely vital that we all continue current efforts to encourage voluntary take-up of the vaccine.
“Councils are already working very closely with local health and care partners to remove existing barriers to take-up, such as providing greater access and tailoring information to address specific concerns, which may well help reach necessary levels of vaccination on a voluntary basis.
“Any targeting of mandatory vaccination should be proportionate and appropriate to specific areas where take-up rates remain lower. It is only right that care workers are treated the same as their NHS counterparts and we are pleased that government has listened to our feedback about extending this to the health workforce, as any suggestion of being singled out could have adverse consequences for recruitment and retention of the care workforce. We will respond to the new consultation once it is published.
“Care providers will find this new requirement challenging. The care workforce should also be supported through other measures, such as through increased pay or improved terms and conditions, which could form part of a long-term, sustainable solution for adult social care.
“We will read the Government’s full response to the original consultation in detail to see if it sufficiently addresses the concerns and comments raised by our members.”