Covid: One in 10 Nottingham hospital staff 'not fully vaccinated'

Queen's Medical Centre is one of two hospitals in Nottingham run by NUH

About 1,600 members of staff at Nottingham's two main hospitals are not fully vaccinated, a trade union has said.

Unison warned Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust could lose up to 10% of its workforce "in the worst-case scenario".

It told the Local Democracy Reporting Service some face losing their jobs if they do not get vaccinated.

NUH has not confirmed how many of its 15,000 staff have been vaccinated.

Hospital trusts across the country are still working with varying numbers of employees who are either totally unvaccinated or who are yet to get a second jab.

In December the government brought in a new rule requiring all patient-facing health and social care workers to be fully vaccinated - meaning they need to have had at least two doses, or face losing their jobs.

NUH runs Queen's Medical Centre and the City Hospital in Nottingham.

The 1,600 figure quoted by the union includes patient-facing staff as well as others who could be defined as non patient-facing, and so could avoid dismissal under the government regulation.

Any frontline staff who have had no jabs must get a dose by 3 February to allow for the gap required before the second jab ahead of the 1 April deadline.

'Really difficult'

Jamie Godber, Unison's NUH branch secretary, said the situation is "very scary".

"What organisation wants to lose 10% of its workforce?" he said.

"These are going to be some of the most difficult winter pressures with a national staff shortage in the NHS, and now this.

"Some people are very fearful of the vaccine but they rely on their jobs - it is really difficult."

A spokesman for NUH said it is creating a "supportive environment" for staff to get their vaccines on shift.

"We are providing a supportive environment in which people can ask questions about the vaccination process, so we can understand their concerns," they said.

"We are providing answers to members of staff directly and collectively.

"All colleagues are able to get their vaccination whilst on shift and at a time that suits them."

Elsewhere in Nottinghamshire, at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust (SFH), which runs King's Mill Hospital, near Mansfield, about 200 of 5,000 staff members have yet to receive the vaccine.

Chief Nurse for SFH Julie Hogg said: "We continue to urge the small minority of colleagues who have not yet had the vaccine to do so in order to help protect themselves, their family and our patients."