In England, the current plan is for the NHS to require Covid-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, following the social care sector.
This means that those who choose not to get the jab risk losing their job.
However, on 9 February, the Government launched a consultation seeking views on their intention to revoke this policy.
This means that healthcare workers who choose not to get the jab will be able to keep their jobs.
We sent Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) to the nine NHS Trusts in Greater Manchester to find out how they could be affected – and the results show that most have got the jab.
Under the Act, a response is legally required within 20 working days; however, many of the NHS Trusts were delayed responding, with some blaming the pressures of the pandemic.
Responding on December 29 2021, the Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust had the largest proportion of staff without a vaccine recorded, with under 90% of staff down as having received at least one jab.
The trust covers four hospitals – Salford Royal Hospital, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Bury’s Fairfield General Hospital.
The highest proportion of staff vaccination was recorded by Bridgewater Community Healthcare – responding on January 25 2022 – with only 3.69% of staff not down as receiving the jab.
The Christie and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care both had a higher rate of boosted staff.
The Trusts also provided data on vaccinations broken down by staff category – though this should be taken with a pinch of salt, as categories can range in size from over 4,000 people to as small as just two or three.
