{"id":35961,"date":"2022-02-04T16:48:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/?p=35961"},"modified":"2023-10-20T13:18:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T12:18:08","slug":"bhta-response-covid-19-vaccination-u-turn-yesterdays-vcod-is-todays-fish-wrap-clear-next-step-guidance-needed-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/bhta-response-covid-19-vaccination-u-turn-yesterdays-vcod-is-todays-fish-wrap-clear-next-step-guidance-needed-now\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Vaccination U-Turn \u2013 Yesterday\u2019s VCOD is Today\u2019s Fish-Wrap \u2013 Clear Next-Step Guidance Needed Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35962\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>*** For immediate release&nbsp;***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"font-size:16.1px\"><li>Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of deployment for frontline health &amp; social care workers (VCOD) \u2013 and now its last-minute reversal \u2013 caused serious disruption to the NHS and its delivery-partner businesses<\/li><li>The reversal will relieve stress, complexity and expense connected to issues caused by VCOD for employers (workforce implications) and employees (redundancies)<\/li><li>Previous guidance on the scope of VCOD was unhelpfully vague, and subject to too much interpretation by individual NHS Trusts<\/li><li>BHTA calls for immediate, clear, easy-to-follow scope guidance \u2013 i.e. exactly who is allowed to work on the health &amp; social care frontline \u2013 that applies equally across the NHS landscape<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Feb, 2022. London, UK]<\/strong> Following the Government&#8217;s decision to suspend its plans to introduce mandatory vaccination for frontline health and social care workers, William Lee, Policy and Parliamentary Executive of the British Healthcare Trades Association, highlights the challenges around clarity of guidance for businesses and the NHS that now must be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#dce0e4;color:#dce0e4\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If a week is a long time in politics, what constitutes a long time in policy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleven-and-a-bit weeks, apparently \u2013 that\u2019s the elapsed time between the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/government-to-introduce-covid-19-vaccination-as-a-condition-of-deployment-for-all-frontline-health-and-social-care-workers\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/government-to-introduce-covid-19-vaccination-as-a-condition-of-deployment-for-all-frontline-health-and-social-care-workers\" target=\"_blank\">Government\u2019s 09-Nov-21 decision <\/a>that all frontline health &amp; social care workers in England must (from 01-Apr-22) be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of deployment (VCOD) and their 11th-hour reversal: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/consultation-on-removing-vaccination-as-a-condition-of-deployment-for-health-and-social-care-staff\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/consultation-on-removing-vaccination-as-a-condition-of-deployment-for-health-and-social-care-staff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department of Health &amp; Social Care (DHSC) announced on Monday, 31-Jan-22<\/a> that the legal requirement for vaccination will be revoked (see also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/oral-statement-on-vaccines-as-a-condition-of-deployment\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/oral-statement-on-vaccines-as-a-condition-of-deployment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sajid Javid\u2019s statement to the House of Commons<\/a> on the same day). This change will be subject to public consultation, the approval of Parliament, and \u2013 crucially \u2013 will require a change to the previous VCOD regulations already laid (more on this last point in a moment).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of the Government\u2019s original decision, we expressed conditional support \u2013 we understood the desire to take all necessary steps to protect healthcare workers and the public \u2013 but we stressed that mandatory vaccination was only 50% of the solution. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/a-shot-and-a-hard-place-bhta-asserts-mandatory-covid-19-vaccination-for-health-social-care-staff-is-only-half-the-solution\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/a-shot-and-a-hard-place-bhta-asserts-mandatory-covid-19-vaccination-for-health-social-care-staff-is-only-half-the-solution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BHTA outlined four key areas of support<\/a>, from both the financial and policy perspectives, that Government needed to address to forestall potential economic fallout from the decision. And BHTA, its member companies, and other health &amp; social care representatives highlighted to Government one of the most foreseeable negative effects: complex issues arising from workforce deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The BHTA can\u2019t but be pleased by the relief this reversal will bring to the health and social care sector. The NHS and its delivery-partner businesses (many of whom are BHTA members) were facing redundancies among those who remained unvaccinated, with dire personal consequences for employees and serious, costly workforce implications for employers. Now is not the time to lack for any frontline health &amp; social care workers for any reason, nor to introduce more stress, complexity, and expense for those working so hard to deliver for patients in the third year of the pandemic. We do, however, note the frustration of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nursingtimes.net\/news\/coronavirus\/government-confirms-u-turn-on-mandatory-vaccination-policy-31-01-2022\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nursingtimes.net\/news\/coronavirus\/government-confirms-u-turn-on-mandatory-vaccination-policy-31-01-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nurses, NHS administrators<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/376\/bmj.o269\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/376\/bmj.o269\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">businesses<\/a> at the route that has led to this last-minute reversal, and we are very concerned about the risks that mixed messages present for BHTA members (businesses trying to provide the very best for patients as partners with the NHS across the health &amp; social care landscape).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Most important now for the NHS and its delivery partners is immediate, clear, easy-to-follow guidance from the centre. Only this will allow the maximum number of health and social care workers back onto the frontline to serve patients, both COVID-19 patients and those affected by COVID-induced backlogs. Previous VCOD guidance on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/coronavirus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2021\/12\/C1470-vcod-for-healthcare-workers-planning-and-preparation-guidance.pdf\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/coronavirus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2021\/12\/C1470-vcod-for-healthcare-workers-planning-and-preparation-guidance.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">planning<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/coronavirus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2022\/01\/C1545-update-vcod-for-healthcare-workers-phase-2-implementation.pdf\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/coronavirus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2022\/01\/C1545-update-vcod-for-healthcare-workers-phase-2-implementation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deployment<\/a> was both vague and lacking in detail \u2013 especially with regard to which categories of employees were and were not in scope for VCOD. As well, the guidance was a minimum standard, beyond which individual NHS Trusts were able to set their own rules and apply their own interpretations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This was \u2013 and is \u2013 unhelpful. It creates too much opportunity for delay, confusion, and \u201cone-size-fits-none\u201d customisation-complexity for delivery partners who work with many NHS Trusts, and are faced with a different set of rules for each one. Now, after having pulled out all the stops in an effort to comply with the original, mandatory VCOD regulation, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/coronavirus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2022\/01\/C1575-update-vaccination-as-condition-of-deployment-VCOD-for-all-healthcare-workers.pdf\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/coronavirus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2022\/01\/C1575-update-vaccination-as-condition-of-deployment-VCOD-for-all-healthcare-workers.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">individual NHS Trusts are being told by Government in a 31-Jan-22 letter<\/a>: \u201cwe\u2019ve removed the legal requirement for vaccines, but you\u2019re in a holding pattern when it comes to frontline staff deployment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And indeed, a legal change to the previously-laid VCOD regulations is a necessity \u2013 but NHS Trusts and their delivery partners need direction now on who can work on the health &amp; social care frontline. Surely, with all else that has been possible during the pandemic, clear, detailed, centre-led guidance \u2013 equally applicable across the health &amp; social care landscape, and flexible enough not to require interpretation on a Trust-by-Trust basis \u2013 is in the Government\u2019s gift. At times \u201cLevelling Across\u201d (something that should be uniquely possible for Britain\u2019s NHS) is as important as Levelling Up \u2013 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.org.uk\/publications\/long-reads\/public-perceptions-performance-policy-and-expectations\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.health.org.uk\/publications\/long-reads\/public-perceptions-performance-policy-and-expectations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">keeping the public happy with the care they receive from the NHS and its delivery partners<\/a> has to be attractive to any Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"> <strong>*** ENDS ***<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#dce0e4;color:#dce0e4\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:300px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/William-Lee-Roundel.png\" alt=\"BHTA Policy and Parliamentary Executive William Lee\" class=\"wp-image-35565\" width=\"194\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/William-Lee-Roundel.png 200w, https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/William-Lee-Roundel-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>William Lee, Policy &amp; Parliamentary Executive at the British Healthcare Trades Association<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><em>With over 25 years of policy and advocacy experience, William Lee has spent much of his working life championing the needs of vulnerable communities at US &amp; UK NGOs and governments. He is responsible for the research, development and dissemination of policy, strategy, parliamentary and technical information to BHTA members, and supports with the association\u2019s important stakeholder engagement.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#dce0e4;color:#dce0e4\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Notes for editors<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the BHTA<\/strong>: Representing over 400 companies in the healthcare and assistive technology industry, the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) brings the industry together to help shape and improve the health and care of the nation. All BHTA members are committed to adhering to the Association\u2019s Code of Practice &#8211; the only code in the industry approved by The Chartered Trading Standards Institute. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/what-we-do\/\">https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/what-we-do\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\">www.bhta.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the CTSI<\/strong>: The BHTA Code of Practice &#8211; the first for consumers in the healthcare industry \u2013 is approved under the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tradingstandards.uk\/advice\/ConsumerCodes.cfm\">Consumer Codes Approval Scheme<\/a>, ensuring all BHTA member companies trade ethically and professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#e1edf3;color:#e1edf3\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For more information<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact email:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href=\"mailto:marketing@bhta.com\">marketing@bhta.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BHTA highlights the challenges around clarity of guidance for businesses and the NHS that must be addressed in the wake of the VCOD U-turn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":449,"featured_media":35962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ub_ctt_via":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[215,303],"tags":[],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Samantha Lewis","author_link":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/author\/samlewis\/"},"modified_by":"Samantha Lewis","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg",1000,667,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg",1000,667,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg",1000,667,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BHTA-vaccine-u-turn-response.jpg",1000,667,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Samantha Lewis","author_link":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/author\/samlewis\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"BHTA highlights the challenges around clarity of guidance for businesses and the NHS that must be addressed in the wake of the VCOD U-turn.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/449"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35961"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37167,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35961\/revisions\/37167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}