Sajid Javid questions unvaccinated care workers

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Ann Rick, 55, knew every resident at Moston Grange Care Home in Manchester by name, and was fiercely proud she was “making a real difference”. She worked overtime during the worst days of the pandemic to support residents, several of whom sadly lost their lives before the vaccine rollout.

But Ann refused the coronavirus vaccination, concerned about any potential side-effects, and so her employment ended on Thursday.

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, the receptionist and support worker said: “I’m devastated.

“I loved making a difference to people’s lives. That’s what made the job so rewarding and now I can never do it again.

“They said they were giving a choice. Tea or coffee is a choice. Vegetarian or meat is a choice. Jab or no jab is a threat.

“I wasn’t saying I’d never have the vaccine, just that it’s still in trial at the moment and that it shouldn’t be mandatory.

“This is the thanks we get because we won’t have a substance injected into our bodies.”

This is the thanks we get because we won’t have a substance injected into our bodies

Ann Rick, worker at Moston Grange Care Home

Ann has found a new job with an energy firm – and took a £600 monthly pay hit.

The Government introduced a strict rule that all workers must be double-jabbed by Thursday November 11 to remain in the industry. It said it would be the best practice to help curb the spread of the disease.

But Ann, from Bury, Greater Manchester, feels all staff in the sector should have been given freedom of choice instead.

She added: “I’ve never had a vaccine for anything and I don’t want to have one now.

“The vaccine is still in a trial period, it’s too soon. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. It’s about freedom of choice. My situation is different to the next person and I think I should be allowed to make a decision.

“This job really was my life. I loved every single one of those residents. I can name them all, I know which units they were all in. I had relationships with their families.

“We put our lives on the line. Now people are saying they don’t want me looking after their families.”

The woman is among around 50,000 care workers nationally to have lost their jobs because they aren’t double jabbed.

She had completed two PCR tests and one lateral flow test every week, and followed strict rules around symptoms at Moston Grange, a private care home rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

Ann, who contracted Covid herself last month, continued: “During the pandemic I didn’t have a single day off.

“I was working every Saturday as over-time, I put in extra hours when others decided to stay at home.

“I went in, I watched people die, I even lost a colleague. We were crying every single day.

“The fact we had our jobs taken away in this situation is horrendous in an industry severely struggling as it is.

“There are amazing people still working in the industry but I worry about who will be brought in to fill the gaps.”

NHS staff face the same vaccine rule from April next year.

Critics say it, and the care industry drive, will exacerbate staffing crises in both sectors.

Ann, who claims to be among nine employees to lose their jobs at the home over vaccination, said: “Before I left we were already struggling to get agency staff.

“It’s ridiculous and it’s only going to get worse. Come January or February it’s going to be horrendous and it’s the residents who will suffer.

“The only reason I feel they have done this is because the Government failed care home residents in the first place.

“Where is the fight from all the care homes? There are people standing up now because the reality of the situation has hit but why didn’t it happen sooner?”

Ann had coronavirus last month and suffered chest pains, lethargy, aching limbs and an agonising headache.

But the experience didn’t change her mind about the jab.

“Nothing could persuade me to reconsider,” she said.

“I have now built up my own antibodies, and besides I’ve seen several people who have had the vaccine who have been as ill as me.”

Judy Downie, from the Relatives and Residents Association said: “There always has been a staffing crisis in care, before the pandemic there were more than 100,000 vacancies.

“Clearly we are focusing on what is the best thing for residents, which is that as many people as possible should be vaccinated, but we don’t think bullying people is the way forward.

“I think care workers on the whole want to be vaccinated but I can understand their rage at being told ‘be vaccinated or get out’. NHS workers have until the spring, how is that coherent? People in the care sector feel once again put upon. They don’t want to be loved, they want to be paid.

“There seems to be a rather less generous attitude to care workers in England than in other nations. The Welsh have given two bonus payments to care workers since the pandemic. Scotland and Ireland also gave bonuses.

“We seem to be the only Government that didn’t.

“One of the biggest failures of the government has been not to raise funding so care workers can afford to take time off when they are sick.”

Equilibrium Healthcare, which runs Moston Grange, said it had acted in accordance with the change in Government legislation on covid-19 vaccination for care workers, unless medically exempt.

A spokesman added: “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of all employees and understand that this process has been difficult for everyone involved.

“We must act in accordance with the latest law and regulation, and we respect the individual choice people have made not to have the vaccine.

“We continue to work closely with Commissioners, local authorities, and the CQC to follow the legislation set out by the Government.”

The firm said they had worked with one agency during the first and second waves of the pandemic and ensured a ‘consistent team throughout’.

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