On 6 January 2022, it became law that from 1 April 2022 those working in frontline and ancillary roles in health and social care activities regulated by the CQC would need to be vaccinated to stay in their roles. This requirement is already in place in care homes. This meant those who were unvaccinated would need their first dose of the vaccine before 3 February 2022 to be compliant.
However, just a few days before this deadline the Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced government consultation would be opened into revoking this. In a watered-down proposal, he said instead he had written to professional regulators operating across the sector to ask them to urgently review current guidance to registrants on vaccinations, including Covid, to emphasise their professional responsibilities in this area. He has also asked the NHS to review its policies on the hiring of new staff and the deployment of existing staff, taking into account their vaccination status.
DHSC officials have also been tasked with consulting on updating the department’s Code of Practice which applies to all CQC registered providers of all healthcare and social care in England. “They will,” he explained, “consult on strengthening requirements in relation to Covid-19 including reflecting the latest advice on infection prevention control.” The Health Secretary highlighted a net increase of 127,000 people working in the NHS who have “done the right thing” and been vaccinated since September 2021 becoming part of the 19 out of 20 NHS workers “who have done their professional duty”.
This leaves your client in a somewhat uncertain position. At this time, the law remains in place. However, Mr Javid has said that the 3 February deadline should be allowed to pass, and no action take to dismiss unvaccinated staff yet. It therefore is highly likely that should this legislation stay, the 1 April 2022 final deadline will move.
That being said, it now seems extremely unlikely that these laws will remain. With the milder Omicron variant now dominant, and reduced instances of severe cases, it would now seem that a legally required vaccine mandate is no longer a proportionate response. As such, you should tell your client to hold fire and wait to see what happens with this newest development.
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