Tory MPs pressure ministers to repeal a law that required all NHS employees to get a Covid jab, as bosses plan to start firing 80,000 workers in two weeks.
Frontline workers should have received two doses by April 1. This means that the second must have been given by February 3.
But more than 80,000 – 6 per cent of the workforce – remain unvaccinated despite repeated efforts to boost take-up.
People arrive at Royal London Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust, which has one of the lowest vaccine uptake among staff in England, with 11 per cent of staff yet to have their first jab
One in ten staff members in some trusts has not had their vaccines administered. That means hospitals in these areas could see a drop in workers in coming weeks. London or Birmingham have the 10 top trusts that receive the least vaccine uptake.
According to new NHS guidance, employers should notify staff that they have been not jabbed and call them into formal meetings beginning February 4, warning them of the possibility of dismissal.
But the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives have urged ministers to delay the rules, saying they could have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on the delivery of services.
Yesterday, Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group, Conservative MPs, urged No. 10 to reconsider.
He said: ‘The Government is still ploughing on, regardless of the consequences on staffing levels. It’s nonsense. Ministers must change course.’
He posted a link to the Government’s own impact assessment, which says 73,000 NHS staff in England could be lost because of the rules.
He added: ‘Here are the stark numbers – which let’s not forget are real people with real families – behind this policy.’
Sajid Javid (Health Secretary) told the Commons last week that the Government was still committed to the plans.