Staff must be vaccinated to work in care homes says Whatley

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Holly Higgins, 28, insists she “just doesn’t do injections” so she declined to get the Covid jab, even after the government mandate all care home workers in England had to be double jabbed by November 11. Now Holly is unemployed and says the situation has caused her a great deal of “stress and anxiety”.

But the mum of one claims she submitted proof for medical exemption which was allegedly denied at Appleton Manor in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

“I’ve had my heart ripped out,” Holly told Manchester Evening News today.

“I’ve had to leave the residents I’ve looked after for three and a half years. I feel so worthless.

“I feel like we weren’t valued at all throughout the pandemic.

“And now to be last year’s heroes and this year’s unemployed – it’s totally unfair.”

I’ve had to leave the residents I’ve looked after for three and a half years. I feel so worthless

Holly Higgins

HC-One runs Appleton Manor, a private retirement home. It said it followed the mandate to ensure the property was safe and described the move as a “responsible step”.

But Holly, from Stockport, believes working through the pandemic led to her developing a number of health problems.

She believes she now has asthma and allergies, issues she never suffered from previously.

The mum continued: “In March, I thought I caught Covid because I lost my sense of smell and taste which I’ve not regained 18 months on.

“I can’t smell gas or anything. I’m certain it’s from testing as it was perfectly fine before all that.

“I never had asthma before Covid happened, before I had to wear a mask.

“I don’t want to risk getting any more health conditions.”

Holly, who had worked at the care home for nearly four years, added: “I had a meeting in August as I was the one who wasn’t vaccinated.

“I suffer from anxiety so became distressed in the meeting and they didn’t care.

“They told me if I didn’t have the vaccine, I would be dismissed.

“They said to try and get something off the GP to prove I had asthma and other health issues.

“I proved that and they said it wasn’t a good enough reason.”

Now Holly has no plans to return to the care industry, believed to have lost 50,000 employees across England due to the rule.

“I don’t have any words,” Holly said.

“I see it as it doesn’t really matter about vaccination status as you can still catch it and transmit it regardless. I’m going to try and tribunal it.

“All of this is causing stress and anxiety to my life. I haven’t signed anything in my contract to say I’d have a vaccine.

“I’ve refused the flu jab every time I’ve been there. I just don’t have any injections so I’m not going to make an exception for Covid.

“What’s the point when you can still catch it.

“A vaccine doesn’t make you the person you are today. It’s whether you care or you don’t.

“Why it’s a level of requirement now – it’s bonkers.”

A spokesperson for HC-One said: “Our purpose is to be The Kind Care Company, supporting our residents to lead their best life with care from our experienced and passionate Colleagues.

“Our homes need to be safe and open to visiting so that residents and their families can come together as they wish.

“We can’t miss any opportunity to make this happen, which is why we announced in July that the Covid-19 vaccine would be a condition of employment for all HC-One employees across the nations.

“This was the responsible step for us to take to protect the people we care for, as well as our colleagues, as the evidence clearly shows that vaccination cuts transmission and substantially reduces the risk of hospitalisation.

“The introduction of the Government’s legislation in England on 11 November means that HC-One now also has a legal duty to ensure that all colleagues in our homes across England are either fully vaccinated or have a valid medical exemption in line with the Government’s guidance.

“Since the vaccination programme started, we have worked tirelessly to support colleagues to choose to be vaccinated, and are pleased with the high vaccination take up we have seen in all our homes.

“Since the mandate was announced, we have made every effort to explain the consequences to colleagues who choose not to be vaccinated, and who do not have a valid medical exemption.

“We have engaged at length, including on a one-to-one basis, with colleagues and their representatives to understand their individual reasons for not receiving the vaccine.

“We expect to lose a small proportion of colleagues who have chosen to remain unvaccinated without qualifying medical exemptions.

“We expect this number to be less than 500, from our colleague population of over 20,000. Our HR and Resourcing teams have been working hard with homes over recent months to anticipate any vacancies as a result of this requirement, so that we can ensure our homes continue to be adequately staffed, enabling us to provide continuity of care to residents.”

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