When will coronavirus vaccinations start?
The UK government is confident that some of the most at-risk groups will be vaccinated before Christmas, and most over-50s before the spring.

More people may be offered a vaccine during 2021, if one is approved by UK regulator, the MHRA.

It will only authorise a vaccine if one meets strict safety, quality and effectiveness standards.

That process will probably take a few weeks. Usually it takes months, but these vaccines are being prioritised.

When will I get a vaccine?
That will mainly depend on your age - with people in care homes and the over-80s at the front of the queue, potentially in December.

That's because the older you are, the higher your risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus - and that risk rises sharply beyond 70.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has decided that care home workers and health and social care staff are also a priority, because they could transmit the virus to vulnerable patients.

After these groups, the plan is to offer the vaccine to everyone else based on their age - from the oldest to the youngest by next spring.

Whether people with underlying health conditions and those from ethnic minority backgrounds are also prioritised in some way, has not been decided.

Where will I get a vaccine?
You'll be invited to get a vaccine as soon as it's your turn, probably by letter.

This could be through your GP surgery, a hospital or care home if you work there, or through vaccination hubs which are being set up around the country.

The NHS is ready to start giving vaccines as soon as the first one is approved and delivered to the UK.

It is recruiting 30,000 volunteers to help, some of who will be trained to give the jabs.

Plans have been in place for months, but they can only be finalised once the regulators authorise the vaccines.

If the Pfizer vaccine is rolled out first, the challenge of storing doses at very cold temperatures will need to be planned for - but this isn't an issue with the Oxford one, which can be stored at normal fridge temperature.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55045639

The RCN have actively welcomed an announcement which has been made. It has been made public that the NHS are going to invest around £15 million to try and strengthen the mental health support network that they have. The investment is going to be funding outreach to those who are deemed to be the most at risk. This happens to include critical care staff.

If you work in a nurse agency or if you happen to work in a nursing recruitment agency then you will know what a step forward this is. The rapid assessment is going to be done to try and make sure that those who have the most severe needs are focused on first. Dame Donna Kinnair who works for the RCN has stated that this further level of support is going to recognise the fact that mental health is just as important as physical health.

This pandemic has meant that nurses need to show more dedication than ever and that some nursing staff have ultimately needed to make decisions which end up putting the needs of their patients above the needs of their own. This is phenomenal to say the least, but it just goes to show what a fantastic workforce that we have. A lot of the factors that happen to worsen mental health include being away from family, having an unhealthy work pattern and even a shortage of staff. The pandemic has brought about all of this and it just goes to show that more needs to be done to make sure that people are not only given support, but also guidance as they navigate this very difficult time. Only time will tell if the right changes are made, but right now things are looking very positive.

The Nursing Support Staff are calling for a bigger pay rise for staff so that they can begin to recognise how important the profession is and how much it is helping the crisis that is happening right now. If you are seeking a nursing recruitment agency or if you run your own nurse agency then you will know how important this is for the sector. Right now, the government have announced a one-year review into spending. This is expected at the end of November and it is going to prioritise support for those who need it during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dame Donna Kinnair has stated that this is now a chance for the government to show all nursing staff that they are in fact valued and that what they are going through right now is understandable. Dame Donna has stated that the Chancellor has in fact started the ball rolling and she has confirmed the government’s intentions to try and address any long-term funding challenges. This is being done for the NHS just next month.

At the end of the day, it would seem that the services are battling a pandemic right now and there are over 50,000 nurses in the UK. Staff feel as though they are being undervalued and they also feel like they are being driven out by things such as poor pay levels.
Next month of course, the government are then able to reset the dial and they can also see the value that this is going to give them. The RCN have published the formal submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review and this is going to set out the political, the economic and the political aspects that will help them to give the pay rise that they need.

The Midwifery Council and Nursing agency have pledged to try and take more action when it comes to ruling out discrimination. They also want to try and focus on providing those who need it with long-term change that is positive and going to impact the whole industry. The nursing regulators have published a new report and they are going to explore the impact that the processes are having right now. In this day and age, research has shown that people are treated differently throughout the process and this depends on who they are. At the end of the day, this has to change. If you work in a nurse agency or if you work in a nursing recruitment agency then you will know how important positive change can be when dealing with issues like this. It’s good to see some change but it would appear that there is a lot of work to do.

This forms a much bigger programme of work which is striving to first identify and then change the way that someone is protected. This could include their age, their ethnicity and their experience in general. Findings have shown that nurses and even midwives are treated very differently. This depends on who they are and this is not right at all. The report has used research that has been gathered in the past and it also focuses on using data that has been gathered recently. This gives the people who are processing the data a good range and it also shows them how things have changed over time. That being said, discrimination is still an issue and if something is not done soon then this could go on to impact the industry in general. That’s why positive movements like this are so sought after.

Nurses in the NHS seem to be struggling with their mental health right now and they have been promised access to both rapid treatment and assessment. This is all part of a £15m investment. Plans for the boost in funding were revealed yesterday by the chief nursing officer, Ruth May. The NHS England and NHS Improvement have confirmed the new package and they have stated that they are going to support a lot of efforts in an attempt to deal with the second wave of Covid-19 cases in the months that lie ahead.

Of course, if you work as part of a nurse agency or if you work in a nursing recruitment agency then you will understand that the money is designed to try and strengthen the support that is out there right now. It is going to go to therapists, paramedics, nurses and more. It’s also going to support staff who are going to be serving on the frontline of the pandemic. Under the brand-new offer, it would seem that professionals are now being referred to try and make sure that they are supported at all times.

The NHS health director who is Claire Murdoch has stated that the funding is going to be given to try and make sure that staff burnout is not an issue for the future. She has stated that money is going to make sure that nobody in the country is left alone during this challenging time. This is a super important addition to the inventions and the initiatives that are present. Of course, only time will tell what is going to happen in the future but right now it would see that more needs to be done in an attempt to give those who truly need it the mental support they need too.

A lot of people now believe that urgent action is needed in order to stop high levels of nurse stress, intentions to quit and turnover. Studies have reported that all of this has been exacerbated by the current pandemic. A blueprint which has been published today has shown that a think tank has actually called an organisation to see if it can be transformed. This is being done to see if staff burnout and exhaustion can be eliminated. They have stated that they need to try and create environments where culture and staff can flourish, but right now, that is proving to be difficult. The report, which is called the Courage of Compassion has ultimately meant that nurses and midwives have now been able to deliver very high-quality care.

The report has been decommissioned by the RCN Foundation and it shows a lot of the problems that are leading to the very things we are seeing right now. The report included those who work in a nurse agency or even those who are seeking a nursing recruitment agency too.
Absenteeism, intentions to quit, turnover and even staff stress are now at alarmingly high levels and that now large numbers of nurses and midwives are being forced to rethink their plans. The pandemic has certainly made it a lot worse for people and it has also showed the inequalities that people are going through. Excessive work pressure has also been added on top of this and it just goes to show that the industry has been overlooked for quite some time. If the workplace is to be transformed and if positive change is to be made then it’s important to implement the practical suggestions that have been made in the report.

The Royal College of Nursing has launched a new manifesto that calls on the Welsh government to provide a very substantial pay rise to see if they can extend the staffing legislations. RCN wales have published the Vote for Nursing campaign so that they can then try and lobby the next government and various other political parties too. They want people to start valuing the profession. This of course, comes after the Senedd election. This is going to take place on the 6th of May, 2021. The manifesto has revealed that professionals do work tirelessly, 24 hours a day.

The union has set out a couple of key points and actions. This includes making sure that effective nursing care and even investments are made. They also want to try and make sure that community nurses are supported and that mental health services are improved. Other key actions include trying to make sure that the call for fair pay is boosted and that nobody’s professional development is stunted. If you are part of a nurse agency or if you are thinking about joining a nursing recruitment agency then you will know how important this can be.

Under the policies, the union have tried to urge the Welsh Government to see if they can extend the Nurse Safe Staffing in Wales act. They want this to now cover the mental health of the children and those who are on in the business. Wales is now the very first country in Europe to try and legislate safe staffing and this all happened when they passed the act in the year 2016. Last week, the Welsh government, which is backed by labour extended the act, to try and include even more under the umbrella.

A number of students have been placed on various nursing courses all across the UK this year. New figures have been published by UCAS and they have revealed a lot of information about this. The data has been published a month after the 28-day period. 3,150 men have started nursing courses this year and this is the highest that there has ever been. Studies have also shown that there has been a 30% increase from the year before. Of course, you should also know that there has been a 23% increase amongst all age groups too. The number of mature students has risen by 23% as well.

This all comes after the government have issued a challenge to the health and education sectors to see if they can expand their intake of students. They have the aim of trying to meet their target of being able to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the year 2025.

Brian Webster-Henderson who is the chair of the Council of Dean’s of Health has congratulated every educator, saying that it is amazing that they have achieved this extraordinary response for nursing students. If you work in a nursing recruitment agency or if you are thinking about enrolling in a nurse agency, then you will understand this more than anyone.

Social Care Colleagues

Social care colleagues are meeting the growth target for nursing students and they now have to make sure that they meet the increase in student numbers. They need to make sure that they are investing in their students, their infrastructure and their staff too. If they don’t then they may find that they end up not meeting expectations and this is the last thing that people need. It’s important to capitalise on this growth as much as possible.

Discrimination to healthcare staff from BME backgrounds has now been described as being the biggest issue to come out of the workforce pandemic. This is a hard-hitting report. The NHS report has been published now and they have set out a key list of actions that all need to be taken into account by the health sector and by the workforce to try and make sure that more is done to make sure that the Covid-19 crisis doesn’t impact the industry too much.

The NHS Confederation

The 31-page document has been titled Covid-19 and the workforce. They have actively warned that the discrimination against BME staff has been a huge challenge to the entire workforce and that it has had a huge impact on the mortality rate amongst the workforce. This is going to take its toll on the mental wellbeing of staff members. The way that the virus has affected those from a BME background has ultimately led to the exposure of generations of discriminative racism in the United Kingdom. Those who work in a nurse agency or those who are part of a nursing recruitment agency will know this more than anyone.

The Report

The report has made it clear that the evidence regarding racism and discrimination has led to everyone being more under pressure. The new report has outlined a lot of issues and authors have stated that they need to take action to try and implement the positive change. When you look at the BME colleagues you will see that they have issues when it comes to being understood by NHS leaders. This needs to change right now, and it’s safe to say that more needs to be done to try and give NHS workers the support they need.

So many nurses and other healthcare staff in the UK may well have been infected with Covid-19 but they have not yet been diagnosed. This is according to a new study which has been done. The University of East Anglia has done the study and they have also worked with the University of London. They have found that a huge portion of the staff had in fact experienced a loss of taste or smell when the pandemic took off. A lot of the cases went undiagnosed at the time purely because there was not a lot of awareness regarding the smell or taste loss as a major symptom. If you work in hospital jobs or if you are part of an hospital staff recruitment agency then you will understand what a debilitating statistic this is, as it means that NHS workers most likely transmitted the disease to one another when they were needed the most on the front line.

Questionnaires were completed by over 260 staff at the Barts Health NHS Trust and they have found that two out of three staff suffered with the symptoms at some point between February and April. Less than a third of them were tested and the tests were in fact limited to those who had a high temperature or even a cough. 56 came back with a positive result. Evidence has shown that loss of smell may be the only symptom of Covid-19 and sometimes it may not even show any other symptoms at all. The findings may have shown that the coronavirus was circulating hospitals, but nothing was done as at the time, we did not know how the virus presented itself. Now we have access to way more data, it just goes to show that the virus can be much more controlled.