Mandatory vaccines caused reduction in staff, research finds Franchise creates happy memories at memory café

HOME care franchise Walfinch Southampton is collaborating with local charity Caraway and St Peter’s Church Maybush to launch a new memory café.

The café will feature live music from pianist Brian Budden – and the chance to sing along.

“Singing is good for physical and mental health, especially for people with dementia,” said Robin Boulter, care coordinator at Walfinch Southampton.

“I saw the benefits clearly when, as a carer, I used to take one client with dementia out for a drive and we both sang along with music CDs. He’d return home a changed man.”

Robin, Southampton Walfinch franchisees Angela Harding and Laura Pineiro and members of the care team will also offer other activities at the monthly memory café, including dancing, crafts, picture quizzes and memory games.

“We’ll also be asking people who come along what they’d like to do, and then tailoring our activities to suit demand,” added Robin.

“It’s important to give people a choice.”

Some of the Walfinch care team will be at each session to give families and carers a break, and to offer advice about help and services.

“Caraway, for instance, offers free courses for people who are caring for loved ones with dementia and runs other community Memory Café,” added Robin.

The sessions from 2pm to 4pm on the third Tuesday of every month are free to attend and will be open to anyone living at the Potters Court extra care housing unit, and anyone from the local community, plus families and carers. Tea, coffee, cold drinks and snacks will be available.

Caraway trustee Dr Ros Simpson said: “This new collaborative project will bring lots of expert help and advice for our guests.

“A session for carers and people living with dementia is so needed in this area, and we have seen carers perk up, have fun and share their problems with each other at the memory cafes.”

NEW research by the University of Nottingham estimates that the care home sector in England was left with up to 19,000 fewer staff following mandatory Covid vaccines being brought in for workers in 2021.

The research, published in the journal Management Science, is the first piece of empirical evidence about the effects of compulsory Covid vaccination for care workers on takeup, staffing and mortality.

The experts found that the UK’s legal requirement for health and social care staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19 resulted in a threeto-four per cent reduction in staffing – equivalent to 14,000 to 19,000 employees in elderly care homes in England.

David Paton, professor of industrial Economics in the Nottingham University Business School, said: “Our research suggests the vaccine mandate exacerbated the staffing crisis in care homes by driving unvaccinated workers out of the sector. Even worse, we find no evidence that the mandate saved any lives at all.

“The results of our study raise significant questions about the of states or employers insisting on Covid-19 vaccination as a condition of employment in the care sector.”

In the UK, the policy was announced on June 16, 2021, with the final deadline for all workers needing to be “double-jabbed” by November 11, 2021 – which has since been revoked (March 2022).

To track its impact, the Nottingham academics analysed weekly data from March 2021 to March 2022, at local authority level on the percentage of elderly care home workers who were unvaccinated, on numbers of care home staff and on Covid-19 related deaths amongst residents.

Throughout this period, but especially at the final November 2021 deadline, the academics found reductions both in the percentage of unvaccinated workers in elderly care homes and in staffing numbers.

The percentage of care workers in England who were unvaccinated was about 16 per cent before the policy announcement, dropping to just four per cent after the final implementation in November.

By November 2021 there were between 28,000 and 41,000 fewer unvaccinated staff working in care homes in England than had the mandate not been in place. However, the experts observe that much of this effect came at the expense of staffing.

They estimate the mandate caused a net reduction in staffing in elderly care homes of between 14,000 and 19,000 employees, around four per cent of the total workforce.

The academics say that, given that some unvaccinated staff will have been replaced by vaccinated staff, the total number of care workers who left their jobs because of the mandate was almost certainly much larger.

They also noted a big increase in reliance on agency workers (rather than directly employed) over the same period.

More recent data on staffing levels suggest that at least some of the impact on staffing persisted even after the mandate was lifted. For example, by the start of June 2022, the total employed in elderly residential care was still about two per cent lower than just before the mandate was announced in the previous year.

Although this represented a recovery in staffing numbers from when the mandate was in operation, it was driven almost entirely by agency workers.

Although the English vaccine mandate ended in spring 2022, formal mandates and employer-based restrictions are still common in a number of countries including the US, Canada and Australia.

Sourafel Girma, professor of industrial economics in the School of Economics at the University of Nottingham, added: “The issue of Covid vaccination is particularly sensitive in the case of elderly care homes given the high vulnerability of residents to Covid-19.

“At the same time, if a mandate results in care workers being sacked or choosing to leave their job, it may contribute to staffing difficulties.

“To date, policymakers concerned about this trade-off have had very limited empirical evidence on which to draw.

“Until now, there has been no attempt to use real world data to estimate the magnitude of any impact on uptake, staffing or mortality.

“Our research should help to inform politicians and managers in the care home sector about the value or otherwise of policies mandating vaccination for workers.”

Provider seeks contractors

across the UK and rewards best practice in person-centred nutritional care. Mark said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the ‘Above and Beyond Special Award’. Although it’s my name on the award, it’s very much a team effort. This is a real recognition of all the great work that my team has been doing at HC-One, so a big thank you to them for all of their hard work for our residents.” The event took place at the Haberdashers Hall in London.

ANCHOR is seeking contractors to deliver a repairs and investment service across its property portfolio. England’s largest not-for profit provider of specialist housing and care for people in later life is tendering for partnerships with contractors covering an integrated programme of repair, investment and improvement activities.

The total estimated value for delivering the service over a period of up to 15 years is £1.7billion.

Brian Golton, director of property delivery, said: “We are looking to secure long term partnerships with contractors who can demonstrate they can deliver consistently and effectively, to ensure we continue to provide homes where residents love living in later life.

“We have commenced the initial phase of procurement with an aim to award tenders in June 2024.”