Compulsory covid vaccines for care home staff could cause some care workers in the Harrogate district to quit their jobs, a local carer has warned.
But another described it as a positive move that would protect care home residents who were unable to be vaccinated for health reasons.
It was reported today that all care home staff in England will be given 16 weeks to be vaccinated or potentially lose their jobs.
A third of North Yorkshire’s 235 care homes are in the Harrogate district so many staff could be affected.
Alison Morgan, a carer from The Manor House Knaresborough, said she was pro-vaccination but opposed making it compulsory. She said:
“I disagree with it being compulsory because it could result in a loss of jobs.
“I do see both sides but it’s a choice at the end of the day. Some people pre-empted it and changed their minds and got the jab, others have already left the job.”
Ms Morgan said there were mixed feelings among the home’s 65 staff, and that she knew a few workers at other care homes that were likely to leave if vaccines became mandatory. She added:
“It’s almost like the government is making up for the mistakes they made at the beginning and saying ‘we’ll look after you now’. But making it compulsory messes with people’s human rights.”
Alison Morgan from The Manor House, Knaresborough
But Sue Cawthray chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours, which operates care homes as part of its mission to help older people, described it as a positive move.She said:
“We’ve been lucky at Harrogate Neighbours that all staff have been vaccinated. From a recruitment perspective, all new staff will need to have the vaccine, which is positive.
“We have a few residents who can’t be vaccinated for health reasons so we have to protect them and this is another way of doing that.”
Read more:
- Over 200,000 covid vaccines have been delivered in the Harrogate district
- Harrogate district covid rate increases again
The government is expected to announce the move in the coming days following a Department of Health and Social Care consultation.
‘Persuasion better than coercion’
Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group, which represents care providers in York and North Yorkshire, said on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning he was pro-vaccination but had doubts about making it mandatory for care home staff. He said:
“I do believe people should take up the vaccine but it should be by persuasion rather than coercion.
“There is already a recruitment crisis in social care, we’re already short of staff. I’m worried people looking to come in the sector might not come in now and the staff working here now may choose to leave.
“We just need a bit more help and time.”
