Vaccinations when working or deployed in care homes
Thursday 26th August 2021
Following on from the announcement that the Department of Health and Social Care has published guidance on new regulations which make COVID-19 vaccination a requirement for people working or deployed in care homes from 11th November 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) has written to NHS staff, including community pharmacy contractors, on how this will be delivered operationally.
Contractors who provide services to care homes will need to:
- actively support staff to have their first COVID-19 vaccine by 16th September 2021 (as eight weeks is required between the two doses);
- carry out proactive workforce planning to ensure:
- only staff who are vaccinated, or exempt, are deployed to a care home from 11th November 2021;
- service provision is not disrupted once this regulation comes into force; and
- ensure that relevant staff can demonstrate to care home staff, via the NHS COVID Pass service, that they have either had two doses or are exempt.
NHSE&I has also published FAQs, which will be updated on a regular basis, to support implementation of the new regulations.
Thursday 26th August 2021