Vaccination to be mandatory for care home staff

[Horseyhorsey3]

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/15/covid-jabs-to-become-mandatory-for-care-home-staff-in-england

It will be interesting to see how this affects retention and recruitment of staff... Or not...

@Watapalava

Oh they will leave. Funny though that we have just had a massive recession and god knows how many people out of work and we still haven’t been able to staff adequately.

Of course some carers will go ahead and vaccinate if they have too but many will leave. We can’t afford for those staff to leave as we are already at very, very dangerous staffing levels.

Guess that falls on deaf ears on Mumsnet.

I know many people who would rather claim universal credit than go into care work.

[quote MercyBooth]@Unsure33 I will ask again How much do you think care workers are paid?[/quote]
Im in a private care home, I get 8.91 an hour. No extra for early's, lates, weekends, no sick pay. Flat rate and its really really hard work but I find it rewarding and I love the residents like my family.We are already in trouble as we can't get staff as easy from abroad after Brexit. Chronically short staffed most of the time and a huge turnover of staff. We have a small number of staff that have refused the vaccine.

[quote Chillychangchoo]@Watapalava

Oh they will leave. Funny though that we have just had a massive recession and god knows how many people out of work and we still haven’t been able to staff adequately.

Of course some carers will go ahead and vaccinate if they have too but many will leave. We can’t afford for those staff to leave as we are already at very, very dangerous staffing levels.

Guess that falls on deaf ears on Mumsnet.

I know many people who would rather claim universal credit than go into care work.[/quote]
And they wouldn't necessarily even need to do that, since there are significant staff shortages in the hospitality sector. Maybe this whole thing is an elaborate ruse to placate the Wetherspoons owner.

@BoaCunstrictor

Ahh yes makes total sense. 😉

Funnily enough one staff member has not long announced she’s leaving this evening on the work whatsapp group. Off to work in a cake factory.

Another one bites the dust. I’m hoping they don’t read mumsnet

Not too bothered though as I also have an exit plan (and not due to vaccination as I am already vaccinated).

@MercyBooth

I was in management in a private care home last year - in answer to your wage query, I was paid 6p over the minimum wage, I was supposed to work 30 hours per week. Often I worked 70hours and 7 days a week. No extra. So around half of minimum wage per hour. Plus all the stress.

As near to modern slavery as it gets in a so-called civilized society - a dumping ground for the unwanted in all respects in our so so busy lives.

was in management in a private care home last year - in answer to your wage query, I was paid 6p over the minimum wage

You were in what they let you think was management whilst they exploited you.

@bollihigh

Indeed, and the good staff often leave as quickly as they can as they can’t bare to see the reality of it all.

They’re sad places to work in. I can only pray I get a short illness in the end to save me the pleasure of going into one 🙏 .

I’ll do my job to the best of my ability until it’s time to move on, but I truly don’t think this is the answer. Social care reform is what’s needed and that’s a bloody pipe dream.

Over and out.

@Chillychangchoo consider yourself clapped from the bottom of my heart. I could never do it for a stranger for sure, for my own sadly long-departed parents nothing was too much.

Good.

@Againstmachine

Well - carers got paid minimum wage and had 12-15 hr shifts. And yes it was management - so glad I’m now out of it. Will never ever go back.

Well - carers got paid minimum wage and had 12-15 hr shifts. And yes it was management - so glad I’m now out of it. Will never ever go back.

No you were managing staff there is a difference, the management get paid the bucks

@bollihigh

Thank you.

@Againstmachine

Those on big bucks were in head office - only 209 miles away. So no, they were not care home management. They were business accountants. Even area managers barely made £20k. But then they didn’t do the hours.

The issue here isn't really vaccination it's the chronic underfunding and understanding of a mostly second-class care system that is rapidly becoming unfit for purpose. Combined with post-pandemic as a society do we really care about reforming it and putting people not profit first ?

And then there's Johnson our current Lord of Misrule happy to point the finger of blame - look over there - migrants, unvaxed workers, flags and statues and pictures of the Queen and a £200 million pound Royal Yatch. We really are going to hell in a handcart.

*understaffing

god i don't give shit about covid but anyone saying that this rule is wrong needs their heads checking
It's not so much that the rule is 'wrong, more that it is counterproductive because of existing problems with the care system.
Compulsory vaccines may intuitively feel like the right solution but when you look at the implications etc things are more complex and nuanced than they appear to be on the surface

My (social care) employer changed their policy to offer full pay to anyone off sick with covid vaccine related side effects which is a step in the right direction.

@Watapalava

god i don't give shit about covid but anyone saying that this rule is wrong needs their heads checking

these are the most vulnerable people in society - if others want to act like nob heads that's fine but they don't get to endanger others. Some jobs must mandate it as part of their duty of care in same way occupational jabs are needed in other lines of work

They also have a choice - they can leave. The fact furlough is ending despite jobs opening up - i expect they'll be thousands out of work soon

This is just simply not true! There are a number of reasons a carer might not be able or willing to have the vaccine - their body their choice!

Fwiw I'm a carer though I don't work in a care home. One of my dear friends and mentor does. She was a nurse before moving to the UK and for various reasons can't be a nurse here. She is late 60s has a serious autoimmune disease and had a life threatening reaction to a flu vaccine a few years ago. She has been instrumental throughout covid in managing infection control procedures and training staff. Despite several residents returning from hospital with covid they have managed to not have it spread throughout the home. This is in no small part due to her work.
She will now loose her job after all the work she's done because she cannot be vaccinated. How is that fair or right? The benefits she brings to that home far far outweigh the risk she theoretically poses!

Not sure if this is allowed - but from The Guardian -
“Workmen, visiting NHS staff and hairdressers must also be double jabbed, but visiting family and friends and emergency workers will be exempt.”

So how will that be policed ? Will they be asked to show there nhs app vaccination data?

Genuine questions as trying to understand the mindset of the anti vaxx in case there is something that needs addressing.

If it was a genuine question you wouldn't use the phrase "mindset of the anti vaxx"

@Bargebill19

Not sure if this is allowed - but from The Guardian - “Workmen, visiting NHS staff and hairdressers must also be double jabbed, but visiting family and friends and emergency workers will be exempt.”

So how will that be policed ? Will they be asked to show there nhs app vaccination data?

That could be tricky. My relative is in a care home in England but less than 5 miles from the Welsh border. I grew up on the English side but now live in Wales.

I could easily imagine that some workmen, hairdressers etc could be commuting over the border.

You can only get access to the NHS vaccine passport app thing if you're registered with a GP in England. There's no alternative app for people living in Wales - the only proof I have of being jabbed is my little card, which could easily be lost.

@DeathByWalkies
Interesting - I didn’t know that.
That does make things complicated.
So another reason to believe this really hasn’t been thought through properly, end to end.

@DeathByWalkies

Is your little card like ours ? With just date and vaccine batch number, easily just passed from person to person? Which I consider a bit of a problem…..especially as they have been seen being sold on eBay for £50+

[quote Bargebill19]@DeathByWalkies

Is your little card like ours ? With just date and vaccine batch number, easily just passed from person to person? Which I consider a bit of a problem…..especially as they have been seen being sold on eBay for £50+[/quote]
Yes that's the one. It's got my name handwritten on, and it's biligual, but otherwise I assume it's the same as the ones they have in England. No photos or anything like that.

I did get a sticker and I stuck it on the back of my driving licence, but I'm not sure that's going to cut it for officialdom.

It doesn't affect me in my capacity as a relative, but could be tricky for those travelling cross-border and working in different care homes.