Matt Hancock has ordered officials to slash red tape that is putting off retired doctors from signing up to help with the mass Covid inoculation programme ahead of the first jabs of the new British-made vaccine on Monday.
The Telegraph disclosed last week that retired medics had been dissuaded from returning to the NHS front line by bureaucracy including a requirement to provide 21 different pieces of evidence to support their application.
However, Mr Hancock, the Health Secretary has now told officials that he wants the process to be urgently streamlined.
He has ordered a review and made it clear that he intends to cut any red tape to make it as streamlined as possible for retired GPs to help with administering Covid-19 jabs.
The move has won the backing of Jeremy Hunt, the health and social care select committee chairman, who told The Telegraph on Saturday: “In this new post-Brexit era of getting rid of unnecessary red tape, this should be top of the list. Never have we needed the help of skilled volunteers more badly or more urgently.”
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, sees a rapid vaccination programme as the way for Britain to get over the worst of the pandemic, although Cabinet ministers have been told that there could be a three-month wait before ministers know whether people who are vaccinated can pass on the virus to others.
Mr Johnson hailed the start of administering the new Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine by six NHS trusts ahead of a roll-out to hundreds of GP surgeries this week, as a “triumph of British science”. At least 530,000 doses of the vaccine are due to be ready on Monday.
Just 5,000 out of 40,000 doctors and nurses who originally applied to return to the front line in March have so far been able to work, despite 30,000 being eligible.
Mr Hancock’s review will examine ways in which the process of signing up to be a volunteer can be made simpler and seek to remove unnecessary checks whilst ensuring safety is maintained for doctors and patients. A source said: “Matt wants to make changes.”
A senior Government source told The Telegraph: “Everyone has a role to play in getting our country through this pandemic, and we want people to support the vaccine delivery plan.
“Matt wants to cut the red tape and make sure the process is as easy as possible. He has made clear it is not acceptable to have unnecessary bureaucracy getting in the way of people wanting to help.
“Of course some checks are necessary, and safety is paramount, but these should be minimised.”