KU healthcare students affected by mandatory vaccination requirement

KU healthcare students will be included in the April 1 mandatory vaccination deadline for NHS workers. 

Students studying nursing, mental health nursing and midwifery will be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to undertake their patient facing placements in a CQC regulated setting. 

The Royal College of Nursing have recognised that “there may be consequences for students, if they have not been vaccinated.”

Whilst there is an elective placement for students studying mental health nursing, placements are an integral part of the nursing and midwifery courses at KU. 

The decision may also affect prospective students for these courses as it will not be possible for them to meet the required outcomes to graduate. 

Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs told the BBC that compulsory vaccinations for health professionals was “not the right way forward.”

The NHS England and Improvement guidance advised those students opting out of vaccination to discuss the repercussions of this with their education provider. 

The Royal College of GPs have called for the deadline to be delayed to prevent staff shortages. 

Though the Department of Health have said that there are no plans to delay the April 1 deadline, delaying the requirement for six months is an option being considered by Downing Street, it was reported on Saturday night. 

This comes after NHS workers opposing the mandatory vaccination policy staged a protest in London on Saturday, with demonstrations also being held in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. 

The exemptions for the requirement set out by Sajid Javid in the House of Commons on November 9 will also apply to healthcare students.

This will include those who do not have face-to-face roles with patients and those who are medically exempt. 

Data published by NHS England on January 13 show that 94.3 per cent of NHS trust healthcare staff have had their first dose of the vaccine, 91.5 per cent have had their second dose, and 74.4 per cent have had their booster.