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Union body publishes five-step plan for getting vaccine
programme right
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Ministers must learn the lessons from Test and Trace
and PPE “failures”
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Design and delivery of vaccination programme should sit
with public health professionals not private companies, says
TUC
The TUC has today (Thursday) warned the government against
repeating the mistakes of Test and Trace by outsourcing the
Covid-19 vaccine programme.
The union body says ministers must learn the lessons from the
failures of Test and Trace and PPE provision by ensuring the
design and delivery of the vaccination programme is led by public
health professionals not private contractors.
The TUC has today published a five-step plan the government
should follow to ensure effective distribution and take-up of the
vaccine:
1. Empower local public health teams to take the
lead: Local directors of public health must be given a
central role in co-ordinating the vaccination programme and not
be marginalised like under Test and Trace, says the TUC.
Local public health teams have consistently proven more effective
at outreach than the centralised Test and Trace system – with
contact rates of over 90% compared to 60% for services run by
Serco. But they have been forced to make do with small and
piecemeal amounts of money in comparison to the billions handed
to Serco.
With the vaccine likely to require significant outreach work at
community level, local public health teams must be given the
funding they need to run large-scale vaccination programmes.
2. Improve supply chains: The NHS’s fragmented
and privatised supply chains massively slowed down the supply of
PPE to frontline staff during the first wave of the crisis.
To avoid similar delays with the supply of the vaccine ministers
should look at using public fleets as appropriate.
3. Trained healthcare staff should administer the
vaccine: The effectiveness of Test and Trace has been
hugely undermined by private companies drafting in non-healthcare
staff with minimal training, says the TUC.
The union body says any expansion in staff able to administer
vaccines should be overseen and organised by NHS organisations or
local authorities.
Training non-health workers to give vaccines should be only a
last resort, with options such as bringing health workers back
from retirement considered first.
4. Persuade and support people to get the
vaccine: Compliance with the vaccination programme
should be achieved through persuasion not compulsion, says the
TUC.
Getting vaccinated must not be made a condition of employment or
access to public services.
And staff should be given paid time-off to get vaccinated.
5. Build public trust: A high level of
engagement and compliance will be essential for the vaccination
programme to be successful.
Trust and confidence in the vaccination system is most likely to
be maximised by a system designed and led by public health
professionals.
Public health experts should lead on communications around
vaccination roll out and the impact. This will help avoid the
politicisation of announcements and ensure that public
expectations are realistic. And there should be transparency and
a public discussion about who is prioritised for the vaccine.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“We all have a shared interest in getting the vaccine programme
right. It’s our only shot at getting life back to normal.
“But that means learning the lessons from the failures of Test
and Trace and PPE provision.
“The best way to deliver an effective rollout - and build public
trust in the vaccine - is for local public health teams to run
it. They know their communities best and are best placed to reach
them.
“Outsourcing Test and Trace to private contractors has caused
huge problems. We cannot afford the same mistake to be made with
the delivery of the vaccine.”
On the need to provide persuasion and support, Frances
O’Grady added:
“The Test and Trace programme has not supported people to do the
right thing. People are still not being given the level of sick
pay they need to self-isolate and are then hit with large fines
for not complying.
“We need a sea-change of approach when it comes to the vaccine.
“People need to be persuaded, not forced into taking it. Allowing
workers paid-time off to get vaccinated will help make things
easier.”
