no.294 • £4.75 incorporating
July 2021
Care providers dismayed over forced vaccine CARE providers say they are dismayed over reports that the Government is to make a Covid-19 vaccination compulsory for those working in the sector. The Independent Care Group said it feared the policy might discourage people from taking up jobs in social care at a time when there are upwards of 120,000 vacancies. Chair Mike Padgham added: “I can understand why the Government has taken this decision as it is vital that we get as many people protected against Covid-19 as possible. The vaccine is very important and playing a crucial role in the pandemic. “However, I do not like the idea of forcing people to do something against their will and would prefer it to remain a matter of personal choice rather than be compulsory. “I think the Government hasn’t gone far enough in its efforts to persuade people of the value of the vaccine and is using the blunt instrument of legislation. “This will without doubt create another barrier to recruitment at a time when social care providers are facing an employment crisis and struggling to fill one shift at a time. “What about those already employed? Are employers going to have to force them to have the injection and dismiss them if they don’t? That can’t be right and will surely open the door for legal
challenge. “There has been discussion about redeploying those who won’t have the vaccine, but again that isn’t always an option, particularly for smaller operators. This whole thing seems to demonstrate once again a lack of understanding of the social care sector. “We trust it will extend to all healthcare workers, including those taking up NHS posts. And will it become compulsory to have a flu jab in future, as for some people the flu can be a fatal illness?” Rachel Harrison, GMB national officer, said: “The Government could do a lot of help carers; address their pay terms and conditions, increasing the rate of and access to contractual sick pay, banning zero hours and ensuring more mobile NHS vaccination teams so those working night shifts can get the jab. “Instead, Ministers are ploughing ahead with plans to strongarm care workers into taking the vaccine without taking seriously the massive blocks these workers still face in getting jabbed. “This looks like another potential avoidable mess. We’ve told Ministers that more than a third of our members in social care would consider packing their jobs in if vaccines were mandated. “They can’t now say they weren’t warned.”
‘I would walk 500 miles’ say residents
Edna Jones, a resident at Ridgway Court residential care home in Farnham managed by the Abbeyfield Wey Valley Society has been creating some rather special gifts to brighten up the lives of children and adults alike in her local neighbourhood. Edna has given up counting how may teddy bears she has knitted, though she estimates it must be close to 500 by now. Before lockdown, Edna used to make regular trips to Frimley Park Hospital to donate some of her teddies to the babies born there as a take-home present, for which she always received a thank-you card. After her first donation of about 100 bears, it transpired that the hospital had had plenty of knitted donations before – hats, blankets and so on – but this was their first of knitted teddies.
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RESIDENTS and staff at a Salisbury care home have ‘followed in the footsteps’ of singing duo The Proclaimers and walked more than 500 miles. Over 31 days, walkers at Braemar Lodge completed enough routes around their garden to match the entire distance from Salisbury to their namesake village of Braemar, 500 miles to the north in Aberdeenshire – plus 255 miles back. Their initiative raised more than £500 for Salisbury-based social enterprise The Pantry Partnership, the home’s nominated charity for this year. Walkers’ progress was shown against four stages, with city ‘checkpoints’ in Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle and Edinburgh guiding the way. Home manager Alison Bremner said: “Our Braemar-to-Braemar challenge was fantastic and a huge success. We exceeded both our fundraising and mileage goals. “It was a great way to encourage everyone to enjoy being outside in the spring weather and have something to work towards that involved both staff and residents. Just like The Proclaimers, our residents proved they were only too happy to walk 500 miles.” Kay Callow achieved the most miles among individual residents taking part. She clocked up 10 miles by completing 101 laps of the garden and three laps of Victoria Park, which lies opposite Braemar Lodge.
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