How are people’s vaccinator job applications going?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

We had a previous thread which I’ve lost. So after originally filling out the form to register my interest in Nov with NHSP and being told I’d hear back within 7 days I only got a link to fill out a proper appt a few days ago.

Done the application now and been told to wait to hear if I’m successful or not. I can really only weekends as I have a substantive 9-5 job to do but hopefully they will want all hands on deck and not turn a registered HCP who knows how to wield a needle away!

I was considering applying as I've had some work fall through (locum pharmacist) but I'm unsure of how I feel about administering off label novel vaccines especially as the insurance was already a bit of a thorny issue (my insurance company have introduced a £35/Yr top up for anyone involved in covid vaccinations due to the extra risk they perceive over and about flu jabs). If I thought the vaccination programme was going to be well run then I would definitely sign up but the new recommendations this week don't seem to have evidence for them. Any thoughts?

@MoiraNotRuby thanks for your info. I only have an iPad and have changed my search engine to google chrome. It’s just so frustrating. I. Retired 3 years ago. My last post I gave hundreds of vaccine a week, yellow fever, rabies, flu, Japanese encephalitis etc. You name it, I gave it (safely, I might add). I have been part of a mass vax programme in the past.
I should be an ideal candidate. But I think I’m going to be beaten by an e-learning programme!

Sounds like a right shower of shit. I get the need for the medical aspects obviously but whats the need for dementia awareness, equality, diversity, human rights, info governance, preventing radicalisation. Stick a needle in their arm, check they dont die and then tell them they are free to sod off.

Is the training the same for everyone? Even nurses that have been giving injections for years? I was thinking of applying, but don't think I will bother!

@divafever99 if you are still employed by the nhs I think it’s only the vax training todo. If you are retired it’s the whole lot you have to do.

@Frazzled2207 yes. The bank, who I am currently employed by to do bank shifts on wards, emailed to say that there were going to be bank shifts up for those who are qualified vaccinators, so here are the links to the training, do it and then let us know...we'll then add "covid vaccinator" beside your name and you'll be able to pick up shifts. Which a lot of us have done - and then nothing!

Caron Roughton, a retired surgical nurse who left the NHS in September, was able to progress to the online training stage of the volunteer vaccination programme but said the questions set were "totally inappropriate" for the level of skill required.

Carrie is completely right; I have a previous degree in biology from before I did my nursing. The online vaccination training included a level of immunology that I encountered in my 2nd year of my life sciences degree. I obviously get the need to have an understanding of the basic immunology and the biological mechanisms of the vaccine, but the level of immunology and virology they are making us learn via my trusts online vaccination e-learning is unbelievable.

Wow this sounds ridiculous. Thank you all for being prepared to go through this ❤

@HildegardNightingale thanks, that makes sense.

My concern is also whether the vaccinators will get the vaccine too as giving so many Injections in 1 day is that many contacts, therefore increased risk surely

[quote HildegardNightingale]@divafever99 if you are still employed by the nhs I think it’s only the vax training todo. If you are retired it’s the whole lot you have to do.[/quote]
I’m not retired. But my substantive post isn’t with the nhs so I have to do the whole lot. Even though I can go and work a shift on an nhs ward tomorrow with my non substantive contract.

@JacobReesMogadishu

I’m not sure if vaccinators get vaccinated, you’d like to think so. Not just for their protection, but to protect all the people they will be in close contact with.

you understand vaccinations dont stop transmission?

you understand vaccinations dont stop transmission

I thought they’d said they didn’t yet know if it would help or not. You’d like to think it would. Surely if you have a successful mmr and therefore don’t catch mumps, you don’t pass mumps onto someone else. So I’d like to think if you had a 95% effective vaccine and didn’t get covid you couldn’t pass covid on. Obviously you might be one of the unlucky ones who catches covid anyway.

Or maybe I’m wrong.

But hopefully the new human studies trial will answer the transmission question.

The process is crazy. Express interest. Get a load of emails about the reduced pay. Get an email to fill in a bit of a form. Fill it in. Get another email to do more of the form. Fill it in Get asked to do 16 training assessments. And then there are checks, including a credit check.

Why would you need a credit check to administer vaccines?

I've got two more trainings to go but the COVID one is 53 pages and hard going.

It is a lot to do without any kind of info about how it will work, where, when or even if you will be accepted.

I imagine the amount of work it takes to do the training etc will deter many. The only reason I have had time is cos I have 2 weeks off for Christmas.

@AwaAnBileYerHeid It really is, targetted for those working on wards a lot of the time, and with far more responsibility than the vaccinators will have.

@yellowcatss They don't know if it will reduce transmisison or not yet. It even says that in the training lol.

Does Trust mandatory training count towards the requirements? I'm a peer vaccinator for flu jabs so would be happy to do Covid ones as well. But I'm not doing all the required training again from scratch.

@Toddlerteaplease

Does Trust mandatory training count towards the requirements? I'm a peer vaccinator for flu jabs so would be happy to do Covid ones as well. But I'm not doing all the required training again from scratch.

I think so but am not sure. University mandatory training doesn’t.

I find it so depressing that I am not remotely surprised how time consuming and difficult it is. This is public sector recruitment in a nutshell. God forbid things go any quicker in a time of national crisis. From what I hear about volunteer recruitment things are just as bad there too.

You people applying to do this are all wonderful thank you

@Molly333

My concern is also whether the vaccinators will get the vaccine too as giving so many Injections in 1 day is that many contacts, therefore increased risk surely

I have been doing the vaccines and I got the first of the Pfizer ones, but only as the vials have a '6th' dose not the 5 that they have planned for. After it was approved to use the 6th dose they gave that out to the staff on site, otherwise I don't think they'd have offered us one that would take away from the public x

That’s exactly what I’ve heard from people I know who are vaccinating, if there’s any left over they get one. As they need using up once defrosted. Which won’t be the case with the Oxford vaccines which worries me,.

@Toddlerteaplease
I am bank only. The mandatory training I did for that is on their own portal. It is identical to this which is on elfh . This role is also through NHSP. No joined up thinking whatsoever. I have had to repeat it all. The only ones I found interesting were the vaccine ones.
I asked for my first post to be withdrawn as felt it had too much identitying information about what I do and my own experiences. I still stand by everything I said about how they’ve been slow to get going and so vaccines are mainly being given by those on permanent contracts doing extra shifts. That is not sustainable either long term or when they’re trying to vaccinate mass numbers per week every week. They also need returning clinicians and those on flexible work patterns who can give more time.. They’re just making the process so lengthy and frustrating that people will give up and that’s a shame.

Can I ask something? I've applied to do this as volunteer via St John Ambulance. Would this be taking away paid jobs from NHS staff, does anyone know? I want to help the NHS not undermine it. I have no experience in healthcare whatsoever, other than being a first aider at work for donkeys years.