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Chief nurse urges former NHS staff to join COVID booster teams

England's chief nurse Ruth May urges former nurses and nursing students to take part in the huge NHS COVID booster vaccination programme as Omicron cases soar

England's chief nurse Ruth May urges former nurses and nursing students to take part in the huge NHS COVID booster vaccination programme as Omicron cases soar

England’s chief nurse Ruth May is urging former NHS nurses to help deliver COVID jabs as cases soar
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England’s top nurse is urging retired nurses to enlist in the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme in a bid to combat the surge of Omicron cases.

Chief nurse Ruth May called on former nurses, nursing students and volunteers to join the vaccine team to help deliver boosters as fast as possible, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise rapidly.

Past and future generations of nurses urged to join huge vaccination effort

Yesterday the UK saw 88,376 new cases recorded, with 7,579 patients in hospital with COVID. It was the second day in a row of record-breaking case numbers.

Ms May urged past and future generations of nurses to join the huge vaccination effort as Omicron case numbers continue to soar.

‘That is why I am using my free time vaccinating and why we’re asking past and future generations of NHS staff, along with the public, to play their part in this Herculean task,’ she said.

‘So, thank you to the thousands of former staff who have heeded the NHS’s call, and if you are thinking of getting involved, please do not delay, sign up today and help the country to get boosted now.’

Existing NHS staff are also being redeployed so that they can focus on protecting the entire country as quickly as possible.

NHS Reserves programme labelled as short-sighted by nurses

The call comes as a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) survey revealed that 1,068 retired staff who signed up to the temporary register in March 2020 had not been offered redeployment, with more than 830 never contacted to support the NHS through the pandemic.

The NMC’s findings are in stark contrast to continued government calls for retired nurses to return to work. Earlier in the month, the government renewed calls for retired nurses to support the NHS through its new NHS Reserves programme.

The programme is intended to enable hospitals to call on skilled staff, including retired nurses, at times of high demand, but nurses labelled the plan as short-sighted.

Nurses who would like to join the vaccine team should visit england.nhs.uk/joinvaccineteam


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