COVID-19 vaccination of people working/deployed in care homes: the role of the Care Quality Commission

Please note the following statement from CQC:

With this regulation coming into effect Thursday 11 November 2021, we'd like to remind you of our role in carrying out our duties in line with Health and Social Care Act. Below is the statement we issued in previous newsletters.

We're aware of concerns regarding the vaccination as a condition of deployment duty, introduced as part of changes to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (‘the Act’). Some of these concerns have been raised around the role of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in monitoring compliance with this requirement.

We understand that COVID-19 pandemic has, and continues to be, an extremely difficult time for care providers, staff members, people using services and their representatives. We recognise the lengths that many staff members and volunteers within services have gone to, to keep people safe during this challenging period.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have amended the Act. From 11 November 2021, all care home workers and other visiting professionals will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they have an exemption or there is an emergency. More information about the exemptions and what is an emergency is detailed in their operational guidance. 

Our role is to regulate against the regulations as they are set by government. As such, we encourage providers to read the operational guidance issued by DHSC on 4 August 2021 and to take the necessary actions to be prepared for this duty to come into place.

We consider that vaccination is an important measure in protecting people who live in care homes and from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have encouraged providers to encourage and facilitate vaccinations of their staff who are eligible to have a vaccination. 

The requirement forms part of the fundamental standards and will be monitored and enforced in appropriate cases by us. We will begin monitoring this from today, 11 November 2021. We will continue to use our existing assessment and enforcement policies and take a proportionate approach, to ensure the welfare and safety of people who use services. We will always treat each matter individually and consider the individual circumstances when undertaking an assessment and deciding on any possible next steps.