Frontline NHS workers continue to express their frustration with the government’s vaccination campaign describing the rollout amongst staff a “shambles” as they struggle to access the jab.
Doctors and nurses have yet again, accused the government of compromising patient safety as a result of “failing to protect the workforce”. Earlier last week healthcare professionals including British Medical Association (BMA), British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) had sounded alarm about lack of clarity in the government’s strategy of vaccinating frontline doctors. These organisations had particularly raised concerns around prioritising healthcare workers from black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) backgrounds especially as the new strain of virus means that these healthcare professionals are at 70% higher risk of contracting the infection than they were during March last year.
Dr Arjun K Ghosh, Consultant Cardiologist, Barts Heart Centre and University College London Hospital, said, “The vaccine roll-out has been haphazard and we have had instances where non-clinical staff have received the vaccine before clinical staff which is difficult to explain or understand. The Covid-19 situation is quite bad nationally especially in London with some hospitals at maximum hospital capacity and running out of oxygen. The roll out of the vaccine and stricter lockdown may help prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.”
The lack of clarity in the vaccination programme is seen as another grave error after the government’s failure of protecting the NHS staff during the first wave of Covid-19 when they were not provided with sufficient Personal and Protective Equipment. Despite working face-to-face on a daily basis with Covid-19 patients, as well as with others who could be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, healthcare workers say they have been left in the dark about the details of how to get the vaccine and the timelines.
The son of the oldest NHS frontline doctor who died after contracting Covid-19 says health and care workers should be the first to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
Dr Anton Sebastian’s son Kevin told Sky News, "When you've got a frontline worker - a nurse or doctor going into those environments - at the very least you would hope they would be protected more than anyone in society. They are going to be worrying every day. Each time they go into work they will be worried about what they might be bringing home to their families.”
In the meantime, Dr Zainab Najim, a GP trainee in Norfolk, and a GP adviser for the Doctor’s Association UK (DAUK), said: “My personal experience would be that a nearby trust have patchily offered vaccines out to hospital staff. GP staff haven’t been told at all what’s going on. We may or may not be being sent slots in the new year.”
