A message from Interim Hospital Director, Tracey Harris
Dear colleague,
I’m sure you have noticed recent media coverage about new legislation that was introduced in the care sector from the 11th of November 2021 making full COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people working in CQC registered care homes in England. The original legislation did not apply to the specialist care environment that we provide. However, that situation changed on the 9th of November 2021 when the government announced the outcome of the consultation into whether to make COVID-19 and flu vaccinations mandatory for all frontline health and social care workers.
While the government decided not to mandate flu vaccinations, it did however announce that the legislation that was brought in from the 11th November 2021 for colleagues working in CQC registered care homes in England would be extending to all frontline health and social care and become effective in April 2022.
We want to make sure that you're fully informed about this ongoing situation and, if you have not been vaccinated, we would like to help you prepare for the vaccination becoming mandatory at our hospital from April 2022. We have worked with our colleagues at Envivo to launch this website providing guidance on the vaccine, including legal information and any concerns you may have based on medical or religious grounds.
Tracey Harris
Vaccine as a condition of Deployment
As you may know, the Government mandated that from the 11th of November 2021, colleagues working in or entering a Care Quality Commission (CQC) Registered care homes in England as part of their role, needed to be double vaccinated or provide evidence of medical exemption.
From the 9th September to the 22nd October 2021 the government conducted a public consultation in respect of extending the mandate to include all frontline NHS staff and those working in social care.
On the 9th of November 2021 Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced that the mandate would indeed be extended to colleagues working in health and wider social care settings in England from April 2022. This means that colleagues in Vision Mental Healthcare will need to be vaccinated (both doses) or provide evidence of medical exemption from April 2022 as a condition of employment.
Key Facts
- The vaccine will make you better protected from severe illness and death as a result of COVID-19.
- There is no guarantee that the vaccine will prevent you from passing on a COVID-19 infection, but evidence suggests that the vaccine makes the spread of infection much less likely.
- Analysis carried out by Public Health England (PHE) suggests the vaccination programme, as of 15 July 2021, has prevented between 11 and 12.5 million infections and between 35,200 and 38,600 deaths since the start of the vaccination programme.
- You can book online through the national booking service or call 119. You can also visit one of hundreds of walk-in centres across the country without the need to book in advance. Find your nearest centre.
