In October last year it emerged the Government was planning to introduce a ban on nursing staff moving between care homes in England to try to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The plans were strongly opposed by trade unions including the Royal College of Nursing, which felt staff were being scapegoated when in fact they are key to preventing the spread of the virus.
Responding to a Department of Health and Social Care announcement today that, following a consultation, the plans have been dropped, Patricia Marquis, Acting RCN England Director, said:
“The Government’s climbdown is the right decision.
“We warned last year that this move would have had a significant negative effect on social care staff who may have felt they were being scapegoated for spreading Covid-19 when in fact they are integral to safe and effective care measures to stop cross infection.
“There is a workforce crisis in social care and a ban would have compounded an already-difficult situation.
“A ban would have undermined safe, person-centred care and punished unfairly diligent care home workers.
“The Government needs to come up with a long-term plan for the health and social care workforce urgently.”
Ends
- Read the RCN's full response to the consultation by the Department of Health and Social Care here.
