Mandating COVID-19 vaccines in adult social care: Have your say

The Government is currently consulting on proposals to require older adult care providers to deploy only those workers who have received their COVID-19 vaccine, unless they are exempt for medical reasons. The proposal would apply to any CQC registered care providers which have at least one resident over the age of 65 at their sites. Experts in the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) Social Care Working Group advise that it is reasonable to proceed with care homes for older adults, as a setting where mandating vaccination is appropriate.Our clients have shared with us their concerns around the implementation of a mandatory vaccine policy, which range from challenges in recording vaccinations or medical exemption status, to managing staff who are not vaccinated. There are also significant challenges around the impact of the proposals on staffing levels, the ability to provide safe care and the potential discriminatory risks. Freeths will be sharing these key concerns via a collective response to the current Government consultation.

You can see the proposed response here.

“It’s been great to engage across the spectrum of our care clients to facilitate input into this extremely important proposed COVID-related legislation, and to deepen understanding of what really matters to sector operators and stakeholders on the topic of vaccinations as a condition to employment in elderly care home settings.”

Thomas Goulding, Partner, Joint Head of CareIf you share the concerns expressed by others in your industry please do let us know and we would be delighted to include your organisation name in our collective response. Should you wish to be included on an anonymous basis please let us know and we will be able to arrange this.

The consultation closes on Friday, 21^st May 2021.

 We look forward to hearing from you.