DR. STEVE JAMES: I'D SACRIFICE MY JOB OVER VACCINE MANDATES PT2
What made him speak out was the sense that the debate was being stifled, even among NHS workers:
What got me going the most was knowing that the voices of colleagues are not being heard… For the last month or two colleagues have been winking and nudging each other and having meetings outside the hospital grounds and making small social media groups to support each other. Because they’re worried about losing their jobs… If there are all these people around, and we’re talking about 10% of the NHS, who are being threatened with the loss of their livelihood, come on, I mean, their voices should be heard. God, they’ve been trying to speak.
- STEVE JAMES, UNHERD
He’s had a mixture of positive and negative reactions within the hospital since he spoke out, but referred to mounting questions among NHS workers:
The population knows that we were clapped a year and a half ago, and they now know, we’re being sacked. So who wouldn’t ask questions about that transformation? How does this process “protect the NHS”? How do you really protect the NHS by losing a large chunk of your staff?
- STEVE JAMES, UNHERD
He hopes that the policy will change before the April deadline, but is prepared to lose his job rather than be vaccinated. “If push comes to shove, I’m not going to have the vaccine, no… I’ll lose my job.” He says he would move to another country where the rules are different.
Dr. James feels that he would not be able to be a good doctor if his integrity had been compromised by taking a medication that he didn’t want. He said that better information about both the risks and rewards of taking the vaccine should be put out by the Government in a way that people can tailor to their own risk profile.
So does he think the policy will change, and will he still be working in the NHS come April?
I’m very hopeful person. I do see the possibility for change — I do see Omicron giving the possibility for a delay and a review. I do see the possibility for trusts to contact the government and say we’re worried about losing our staff, and that seems to be a bigger problem than whether they’re vaccinated or not, because we were not really worried about transmission from staff to patients.
- STEVE JAMES, UNHERD