Vaccination as Condition of Deployment (VCOD) measures set to be cancelled
Regulations requiring healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by 1 April should no longer be applied, the Health Secretary Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP announced to Parliament on the evening of 31 January.
- Joint statement from the GMC and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, 10 February
- NHS England letter and FAQs re: VCOD, 8 February
- NHS England letter re: VCOD, 31 January
A Government onsultation was opened between 9 and 16 February, once the Government has considered responses to the consultation it will move for the two statutory instruments covering VCOD in care homes and in other care settings to be nullified, likely before the end of February. This will mean the legislation making VCOD a requirement is removed.
In the meantime, employers have been instructed by NHS England: "This change in Government policy means we request that employers do not serve notice of termination to employees affected by the VCOD regulations."
The Health Secretary also told Parliament that he has written to regulators, NHS England and the CQC to request that they tighten measures and requirements for vaccinations received by staff. His letter has not been published, but the response to it from the GMC and Academy of Royal Medical Colleges is linked to above.
In his statement to MPs on 31 January, Mr Javid said the policy had been right in retrospect, “given the severity of Delta”.
Note: Londonwide LMCs previously issued this guidance on VCOD which was circulated as part of our January newsletter. It is no longer applicable following the announcement of 31 January.
Last updated : 23 Feb 2022Medical records one-off payment (19 Jul 2017)
Practices should have received a £250 payment alongside their contractual payment by the end of June 2017. If you have not received this payment or you have any queries relating...Violent patients – a step-by-step guide to safeguarding staff (19 Jul 2017)
After a mental health inpatient made a death threat against a GP in a London practice. Londonwide LMCs' medical director Dr Vicky Weeks shares the advice she gave the team....Premises update July 2017 (18 Jul 2017)
This month’s update include advice on: London policy for accessing financial support for service charges and premises running costs How to plan a premises relocation Lease negotiations Transitional funding...Vacancies on BMA committees (18 Jul 2017)
There are vacancies on the following: Armed forces committee Civil and public services committee Private practice committee Forensic and secure environments committee Committee of medical managers ...Flu campaign preparation and best practice (18 Jul 2017)
Ellie Roberts, a practice manager on secondment to Londonwide LMCs, looks at why practices need to bite the bullet and get started on their flu campaign now. The flu campaign...Ballot on willingness to consider closing lists as industrial action (18 Jul 2017)
At May’s LMC conference the following motion by Tower Hamlets LMC was passed: That conference believes that the GP Forward View is failing to deliver the resources necessary to sustain...Locum and salaried GP handbooks (18 Jul 2017)
The locum GP handbook provides advice and guidance on all aspects of locum work, including on starting out as a locum, setting up as a business and establishing a contract for...New primary-secondary care interface guidance (18 Jul 2017)
GPC (England) has produced new guidance on the interface between primary and secondary care in collaboration with NHS England, NHS Improvement, NHS Clinical Commissioners, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal...CCG proposals for GPs to restrict access to OTC prescriptions (18 Jul 2017)
This page has been updated to remove advice which stated schemes proposed by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) which involve GPs assessing patients’ ability to pay for over-the-counter medicines and asking...What they said about the GP Essential Toolkit conference (05 Jul 2017)
Our first Essential Toolkit for GPs on Tuesday 4 July, 2017 was a huge success. See some of the top tweets from speakers and attendees below: ...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
