In October 2021 we responded to a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) consultation on whether COVID-19 and flu vaccination should be made a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector in England.
In February 2022 we responded to a further DHSC consultation following the announcement that mandatory COVID-19 vaccination would be revoked subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval. Our response to both consultations are outlined below.
In February 2022 we responded to a further DHSC consultation following the announcement that mandatory COVID-19 vaccination would be revoked subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval. Our response to both consultations are outlined below.
Making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector
In September 2021 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched a consultation seeking views on whether COVID-19 and flu vaccination should be made a condition of deployment for health and care workers who have face-to face contact with patients and clients. This would mean only workers that are vaccinated or those with a legitimate medical exemption could be deployed to deliver those services.
Our response
- We strongly believe that all health and care staff should choose to be vaccinated. GMC guidance states that doctors have a duty to be immunised against common infectious diseases to protect themselves and their patients. However, in line with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges position we do not support mandatory vaccinations for healthcare staff.
- Whilst we support the need for vaccination rates in healthcare staff to be as high as possible, we don’t believe that making vaccinations compulsory is the most appropriate or effective way to do this.
- The NHS is experiencing significant staff shortages, long waiting lists and huge backlogs going into a winter where demand is likely to be extremely high. We are concerned about the potential impact on already stretched NHS services and staff morale if this approach is introduced and healthcare workers are redeployed or dismissed for remaining unvaccinated.
- There is a risk that the introduction of mandatory vaccinations will lead to unnecessary disputes and arguments at local and national level which may damage relationships and generate negative publicity with regards to vaccination. This would distract from and be counterproductive to the main focus of delivering patient care and increasing confidence in the vaccination programme.
- Studies have highlighted that there may be more vaccine hesitancy in some ethnic minority groups that are overrepresented in the health and social care workforce.1 2 3 There is a risk therefore that these groups will be disproportionately affected, and this approach could be seen as discriminatory.
- Mandating vaccination at a national level for health care staff would set an unwelcome precedent which is at odds with the informed consent approach in most other areas of vaccination and healthcare. Instead we would support continued investment in non-statutory measures to encourage vaccine uptake that would avoid the potential impact on staffing levels and allow individuals to retain personal choice about vaccination.
The full consultation response can be downloaded below.
Revoking vaccination as a condition of deployment across all health and social care
On 31 January, following consideration of the implications of Omicron becoming the dominant variant of COVID-19, the DHSC announced that vaccination as a condition of deployment would be removed subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval. In February 2022 we responded to the subsequent consultation.
Our response
- The RCPCH is unequivocally of the view that all health and care staff should choose to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they are exempt. GMC guidance makes it very clear that doctors have a professional duty to be immunised against common infectious diseases to protect themselves and their patients. Over 95% of doctors have already received at least two doses of the vaccine and we are strongly encouraging our members who haven’t yet taken up the full course of vaccination to do so.
- However, in accordance with reasons stated above in our response to the previous consultation and in consideration of the impact of Omicron becoming the dominant variant of COVID-19 we agree that the requirement for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination to be a condition of deployment for health and care staff should be revoked.
We respond to a wide range of consultations to ensure that the College’s position, and ultimately children’s health, is represented. Members can get involved in current consultations by contacting the Health Policy team: health.policy@rcpch.ac.uk
- 1Bell S, Clarke RM, Ismail SA, et al. Covid-19 vaccination beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours among health and social care workers in the UK: a mixed-methods study.medRxiv2021 [Pre-print]. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.23.21255971v1
- 2Stead M, Jessop C, Angus K, et al A national survey of attitudes towards and intentions to vaccinate against covid-19: implications for communications.medRxiv2021 [Pre-print]. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.29.21259717v1
- 3Woolf K, McManus IC, Martin CA, et al. Ethnic differences in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy in United Kingdom healthcare workers: results from the UK-REACH prospective nationwide cohort study. Lancet Reg Health Eur2021. doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2021.100180