CUMBRIA County Council has said that care home workers employed in the county have a "personal choice" about whether or not to get vaccinated against Covid-19, but that - in line with national legislation - those who remain unvaccinated will not be able to work in a care home after November 11.

The council confirmed the policy following the publication of NHS figures which indicated that in Cumbria, 419 out of 5,461 eligible staff (eight per cent), including agency workers, at older adult care homes had not received a first dose by August 22.

The number of staff unvaccinated in Cumbria is falling, though time is running out until the November deadline.

A spokesperson for the council said: "We are supporting care home workers and Registered Managers across Cumbria to understand the law and the impact it will have on them.

"The law prevents anyone who is not fully vaccinated or medically exempt to enter a care home for work after November 11.

"Staff are being supported and encouraged to consider taking up the vaccine, it remains their personal choice to take up the offer of vaccination.

"Those who do not wish to be vaccinated against Covid-19 will not be able to work in a care home after November 11.

"Independent care providers will follow their own internal processes if staff remain unvaccinated after the deadline.

"In the 19 care homes run by Cumbria Care, the council’s in-house care provider, a small proportion of staff remain unvaccinated, 5.6 percent, but that number is falling and engagement with staff continues."

Nadra Ahmed, chief executive of the National Care Association, said she believes the national government's policy was "never thought through" and that she is “extremely concerned” over the impact of unvaccinated workers being forced out of care homes, come the November deadline.

She said the industry was already struggling to fill 115,000 vacancies.

Ms Ahmed said: “We are extremely concerned at the impact of this, which we believe was never properly thought through – we have a huge number of vacancies already and because of this legislation more people have left or are leaving.

“Some members of staff are not taking the vaccine for a number of reasons, personal and cultural, and their loss will be badly felt.

“The care sector has been discriminated against through this legislation, which only adds to the problems we already have of fatigue and vacancies.”

The move to compel all care home staff to be vaccinated was part of the cause behind a protest on the streets of Carlisle last month.

Are you an unvaccinated care home worker in Cumbria who is choosing between remaining unvaccinated and potentially leaving the sector? Get in touch at news.carlisle@cnmedia.co.uk