The government has come under heavy criticism from the social care sector after announcing regulations making vaccines a condition of deployment for care home staff in England will be revoked.
Care England said the policy was imposed upon the care home sector “without due consideration or support” and the damage to the workforce had already been done.
“Sadly, it has had unintended consequences with staff leaving the sector, some to the NHS, thus exacerbating the pre-existing recruitment and retention challenges leading to disruption to the delivery of health and care services,” added chief executive Martin Green.
“Care homes have been the scapegoat and whilst the government claims that health and social care are the same system it is clear that they are operating under different standards; once again social care is the poor relation”.
The Department of Health and Social Care announced the U-turn on Monday night, saying the “balance of opportunities and risks of the policy had changed” with the dominance of Omicron variant, and “workforce challenges remain”.
The government will work closely with Royal Colleges and professional regulators to strengthen guidance, and consult on updates to the Department of Health and Social Care’s Code of Practice for regulated providers to strengthen the requirements in relation to Covid-19, which applies to all CQC registered providers of all health and social care in England.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “It is now in our national interest to embark on this new phase of the pandemic where we keep the British people safe while showing the world how we can successfully live with Covid-19.”
National Care Forum said the government had "steam rolled through a chaotic policy with long term detrimental impacts" on those who work in care homes and on residents.
“Care homes have been the unwitting guinea pigs through the implementation of this policy, and the impact on people must not be swept under the carpet," added chief executive Vic Rayner.
“In October last year, strong words were spoken by the Health and Social Care Secretary telling social care workers “… if you cannot be bothered to go and get vaccinated then get out and go and get another job.” The lack of regard and respect for care workers was felt strongly, and these were words that contributed to over 30,000 care workers leaving the sector and contributing to the worst staffing crisis we have seen on record in social care".
Rayner continued: “The government must apologise to the social care staff who have lost their jobs and to the people receiving care and support who have had to watch relationships they cherish being severed abruptly as a direct result of this policy, and to the social care providers who have invested significant time, energy and resources into implementing a chaotic policy that is now considered obsolete.
The GMB union meanwhile said thousands of care home staff had lost their jobs because of an unrealistic vaccination policy.
“It’s yet another reflection of (the government’s) failure to deal with the staffing crisis in social care; caused by low pay and poor treatment. People are voting with their feet, choosing to work in supermarkets or warehouses instead,” said GMB national officer Rachel Harrison.
“We need a national plan for social care and £15 an hour so these dedicated professionals can do the job the nation needs them to do,” he added.
PJ Care, which provides specialist neurological care to residents with progressive conditions such as dementia, acquired brain injury and Huntington’s disease, branded the U-turn “ a joke”.
“Needing to change the law at this late stage shows a complete lack of foresight and planning,” said chairman Neil Russell.
“For us in the care home sector, the damage has already been done as we have lost staff and most will not want to come back after the way they feel they have been treated over this issue.”
