Fears of a staffing crisis are growing as thousands of unjabbed doctors, nurses and healthcare workers across Merseyside 'face the sack' when the Government's NHS covid vaccine mandate comes in.
A source with knowledge of the situation at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT), which runs the Royal Liverpool, Aintree and Broadgreen hospitals, told the ECHO that as things stand around 1,000 health care staff are set to lose their jobs within that trust alone.
The source said of that figure, around 200 were doctors, and added that it does not include agency or bank staff who are vital for covering gaps in the rota.
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If those essential cover staff are added, many who have spent years covering the same shifts, they said the number of unvaccinated staff facing the axe increases by around double.
The new legislation comes into force on April 1, but anyone who has not yet received their first jab would need to receive it by February 3 to allow enough time for their second dose.
The source told the ECHO: "I just don't think people realise just how much of a problem this is going to be.
"Even across the trust, I don't think they understand the scale of it. To work in the NHS you have to have more vaccinations than the ordinary person anyway, so I don't think they are anti-vaxxers.
"They have their reasons, and they have worked through the pandemic when people were clapping for them, and now we are going to have to sack them.
"We are already under pressure and I think this will mean we just won't be able to provide the standard and quality of care to our patients."
A spokeswoman for the trust said it is still working to encourage "a minority" of unvaccinated staff to "make an informed decision" and get the jab before the deadline.
Opposition to the mandate is growing and there have been reports the government is considering a delay, although some ministers have stressed the current plan remains in force.
The Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Nurses and Royal College of GPs have all called for the government to delay its deadline.
Today Wavertree MP Paula Barker voiced her opposition, tweeting: "Mandatory vaccinations of NHS staff are wrong and changing the law to sack those who are unvaccinated is morally reprehensible.
"It will plunge our NHS deeper into crisis. These are the true heroes of the pandemic. Whilst Downing St were partying, these workers were saving lives."
According to official government figures, as of January 13 this year 92.3% of healthcare staff at LUHFT were registered as having received at least one jab, falling to 88.8% for a second jab.
Those figures may not include staff who had been vaccinated elsewhere than their workplace, and a spokeswoman for the trust said work is underway to clarify how many are in this group.
LUHFT is by far the biggest NHS organisation in Merseyside, with around 17,000 healthcare employees, but other major healthcare trusts in the region are also facing a major staffing crisis if the situation remains unchanged.
At Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs most of the county's mental health, community and prison care, around 94% of it's 11,752 health care staff had received at least their first jab as of January 13, with 91% having received their second dose.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, recorded 94% of it's 6,441 frontline staff had received at least one dose, with 91.4% double jabbed.
At Alder Hey Children's Hospital, 95.4% of its 3,948 healthcare staff were single jabbed with 92.6% double jabbed, while Liverpool Women's Hospital recorded 92% of its 1,840 staff single jabbed and 89.6% double jabbed.
Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust recorded 95.9% of its 3,382 staff single jabbed and 93.6% double jabbed.
Data was less clear for St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Whiston and St Helens hospitals.
As the trust is lead employer status for all Doctors and Dentists in Specialty Training from a number of Health Education England (HEE) areas, the number of registered staff covered by the mandate is around 18,000, although only 4,000 work across the two hospitals.
A spokeswoman for LUHFT said: "Patient safety is our top priority, and we know that the vaccine is the best protection against Covid-19 for both our patients and staff.
"We are currently working with the minority of staff who have not yet been vaccinated to understand their reasons for this in order to support them to make an informed decision.”
A spokesman for NHS England North West added: "The NHS has always been clear that the life-saving covid vaccination is the best protection against the virus, and while it is currently a recommendation for health and care staff to be vaccinated, it will soon become a legal requirement.
“The overwhelming majority of staff in NHS organisations, nine in ten, have already had their second jab, and NHS employers will continue to support and encourage staff who have not yet been vaccinated to take up the offer of the 1st and 2nd doses ahead of the 1st April, when regulations come into effect."
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