Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 04 May 2024 at 03:55
Regulations to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will take effect on 1 April 2022 for all NHS and social care staff in patient-facing roles. Members of the Exec team are leading live Q&A sessions with staff to answer any questions they may have.
The first session was held on Wednesday 26th January, and a recording of the session as well as the questions answered are available below. We will be updating this page after the further sessions with any additional information. If you have any other questions please do join the remaining session and a member of the Executive team will answer them.
You can join the remaining session via the link below.
Q1 - In regards to remaining patient facing with a medical exemption in place, I had adverse reactions from my first dose, from what I am reading, that even if I am medically exempt I will no longer be able to carry out my current role within the ambulance service. However, the same rules do not apply to nurses, a nurse with a medical exemption can carry out the face-to-face duties and an exemption is classed as meeting the mandatory vaccination criteria, can you clarify this?
Q2 - Hi - do we know what the timescales will be to hear back from the 119 service re validation of exemptions?
Q3 - Can you clarify that control room roles do not require a jab?
Q4 - It hasn’t been passed in law yet.
Q5 - If the government do retract the mandate, will EEAST still enforce it?
Q6 - If the vaccine were to cause me to have a adverse reactions, who will take responsibility for this?
Q7 - Have you read last week’s publication in the Lancet regarding vaccinated vs unvaccinated transmission?
Q8 - We do not have a personal choice though! and you are forcing us to if we want to keep our job no?
Q9 - I am currently breastfeeding. The trials have absolutely no data on breastfeeding women, and the official gov.uk document for Pfizer states breastfeeding women should not have it. It's not fair to say that they're safe for everyone but I'm set to lose my job because I want to breastfeed my baby. I've not yet had any 1 to 1 as I’m on mat leave. Can you confirm whether this can be taken into account for my situation, so I do not have to lose my job?
Q10 - Thank you for the reply, as of yet I have been told that I will be facing redeployment regardless of exemption status. This not only affects me and my career and my current progression on the Apprentice Paramedic Pathway that I’m on, but will also financially impact me, bring my career to stand still, and put everything I have worked for at risk. This is from a medical exemption that if I have another jab will be detrimental to my health and wellbeing. I am also off on long term sick following side effects from an operation I had to amend damage from my first vaccine. I have been contacted and had a meeting arranged when I am off sick where I should only be contacted for welfare check. I have been under a huge amount of additional stress in relations to this that is not helping my recovery. Does this not go against Trust policy?
Q11 - Consent via coercion doesn’t feel like convent.
Q12 - I've been told I won’t even be redeployed! I've worked for 2 years trying to gain my qualification and I am so close, yet all of this is going to be thrown away!
Q13 - Could you please explain the Trusts stance on missing the deadline due to a COVID infection, as you know a vaccine cannot be taken until 28 days post infection.. will that delay our dismissal?
Published 27th January 2021