12 COVER STORY
The Covid-19 vaccination programme
When did the rollout begin ? 8 December in hospital hubs and 14 December in primary care
How many sites are delivering the vaccine ? There will be 1,200 GP-led immunisation centres , 50 mass vaccination sites and 206 hospital hubs
How quickly will people be vaccinated ? The Government ’ s initial aim is to vaccinate the four most vulnerable groups by mid-February , which is around 15 million people
of GPNs believed they were underpaid and a third planned to retire in the next fi ve years . ‘ At the moment , all you hear about is GPs and not GPNs ,’ Ms Hussain-Mills says . ‘ It ’ s unfortunate because the initials for general practice are the same for as those for general practitioners . When you ’ re talking about GP land , people just think you ’ re talking about general practitioners .’
Ms Hussain-Mills says workloads have been ‘ relentless ’ and emotionally draining . ‘ Patients are really struggling with mental health problems , losing their jobs and not being able to feed their families . They come to you with that emotional burden and you also have to take care of the physical aspects of their health needs .’
Helen Donovan , RCN professional lead for public health , says primary care nurses need recognition for their work . ‘ Nursing staff are already central to the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme .’ They are ‘ vital to the successful delivery of the vaccination ,’ she explains . ‘ They should be given huge credit for their professionalism , at a time when nursing is under such unprecedented pressure .’
Caroline says : ‘ I ’ m tired of practice nurses being forgotten about and not valued . I think practice nursing has gone back 30 years during the pandemic . It ’ s as if we are expected to be GPs ’ handmaidens .’
She adds : ‘ You barely hear the words practice nurse mentioned [ by the Government or media ] when it comes to Covid vaccinations . I ’ m feeling very disillusioned as a result , given we work so hard to deliver them .’
Possible consequences Caroline tells Nursing in Practice that ‘ for the fi rst time ever ’ she is considering retiring at the earliest opportunity , when she turns 55 in two years ’ time , because of how undervalued she has felt during the pandemic . For her , delivering the Covid-19 vaccine has been defl ating rather than empowering . Ms Hussain-Mills says : ‘ I wouldn ’ t be surprised if we see practice nurses burn out .’
Issues such as standardised contracts have ‘ always been in the background ’, she adds . ‘ This is a time for change . We need to speak to people like the BMA and NHS England and NHS Improvement primary care medical director Dr Nikki Kanani . That ’ s where the power lies .’
NHS England primary care nursing lead Karen Storey said in 2019 , work was being done on GPN terms and conditions . But NHS England had not responded to Nursing in Practice ’ s enquiries about an update to this work as we went to press .
However , this is not to say that nurses are not recognised . On 4 January , chief nursing offi cer for England Ruth May tweeted her thanks to GPNs for their ‘ work at the very heart of the vaccination programme ’, which was well received in the community .
And not all PCNs and practices are ignoring the voice of practice nurses . Kim Ball , lead practice nurse at a surgery in Bristol , says her role has allowed her to contribute at PCN level . She explains : ‘ I ’ m a lead nurse , so I am involved at PCN level with the vaccination programme . I ’ ve been able to act on behalf of nurses and speak up for them so that it ’ s not GP dominated ,’ she says . ‘ Without that , I don ’ t think nurses ’ voices would be heard as well in my area .’
Nottingham GP and BBC Breakfast regular Dr Jamie Parker thinks nurses would benefi t from being featured in the media more regularly . ‘ When I started out on BBC Breakfast , it was pointed out on social media that there was a lack of practice nurses on the programme ,’ he says . ‘ It ’ s about getting visibility .’ And , he adds , practice nurses have been vital in the fi ght against Covid : ‘ I am deeply grateful for their help and bravery keeping things going . We couldn ’ t have done it without them .’
Ms Donovan says practices need the appropriate levels of funding to ensure enough nursing staff for the Covid vaccine programme . ‘ The continuing rollout will be a huge undertaking and there must be enough resource , including funding and clinical staff ,’ she says .
Dr Oldman says : ‘ Nurses need to be listened to so that solutions can be found to real practical issues . It ’ s not about us versus them . It ’ s about valuing knowledge and skills .’ ‘ Nurses are the vaccinations experts ,’ she adds .
When sick pay isn ’ t always properly given , or we work bank holidays , but are still not listened to , we begin to think what ’ s the point ?
Time to recognise our nurses
By Emily Twinch Editor , Nursing in Practice
You are not inclined to shout about your achievements . Nurses do not like being called heroes . You usually carry out your work with quiet dedication . But these are not usual times .
If you ’ re a practice nurse , you have learned to work digitally but have also made sure vital work such as baby jabs have continued during the pandemic . Now you are central to the biggest vaccination programme ever – to inoculate people against Covid-19 . Just before that , you were part of the biggest flu vaccination programme ever seen in this country .
If you ’ re a community nurse , you have dealt with incredible workloads and been a daily witness to heartbreaking scenes , such as dying people who cannot be hugged by relatives .
But when people went into the streets to clap it was the NHS they celebrated , and when they thought of nurses it was those who work in hospitals . Now more than ever you deserve recognition . But not just for recognition ’ s sake .
You want it because you have a valuable voice to bring to the table . You are vaccination experts , and your expertise is vital to make this massive vaccination programme a success . Employers and the Government should recognise you too , and take note of the variation of wages and conditions between practices , a longterm issue that should not be ignored because this time nurses might walk out of the job after the pandemic has passed .
I feel I am right in saying you would be buoyed by a little more appreciation and acknowledgement , which should translate into fairer , more standard wages and terms and conditions across the board . To me it seems a little that would go a long way . nursinginpractice . com Winter 2021