Urging NHS Staff to Take COVID-19 Vaccines Without Mentioning Side Effects Could Be ‘Negligent’: Law Firm

Health bosses must not fail to disclose treatment risks because they wish to prohibit staff from making what they believe to be an ‘unwise’ decision.

According to employment lawyers and a workers union, encouraging NHS staff to take COVID 19 vaccinations without mentioning side effects could be considered negligent.

It comes as a leaked image of a slide and video addressed to staff shows a head nurse urging health care workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine without explicitly mentioning side effects.

The image features Alison Lynch, group deputy chief nurse at Manchester Foundation Trust (MFT), with the words “Flu and COVID vaccinations are safe, effective, and easily accessible.”

It encourages NHS employees to “take advantage of this opportunity to protect yourselves, our patients, and our colleagues.”

According to the COVID Fact section, “getting vaccinated is just as important if you’ve already had COVID as it is if you haven’t.”

“It provides additional protection, beyond that of natural immunity from preous infection alone, against serious complications of infection.”

The image has sparked a broader debate about the dangers of failing to communicate potential side effects of medications, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Epoch Times was unable to confirm whether MFT mentioned side effects later in the video. The trust did not respond to requests for comment, despite multiple attempts by email and phone.

Autumn Booster Vaccine

A representative from commercial solicitors The Jonathan Lea Network expressed general concerns about the lack of communication about potential side effects associated with various medications, including COVID-19 vaccines.
“It is absolutely correct that no medical treatment can ever be considered 100 percent safe and effective, and there are many factors that will need to be considered when health care staff advise their patients as to which treatments to have, if any,” George Harrison, a Trainee Solicitor at the firm, told The Epoch Times via email.

He stated that the side effects of the COVID-19 injections are an important factor to consider.

The NHS is currently implementing its autumn COVID-19 vaccine booster, with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) recommending that boosters be made available to frontline health and social care workers, as well as people aged 65 and older.

Winter respiratory vaccinations are not required for NHS employees in England and Wales, but they are “strongly recommended.”

According to the UK Supreme Court case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (2015), doctors must use their professional judgment when evaluating potential treatments, but patients must be the final arbiters in deciding whether to accept or reject the doctor’s advice.

Mr. Harrison explained that, in the end, patients must be fully informed of their recommended treatment, including discussions about potential alternatives as well as disclosure of material risks associated with the treatment and suggested alternatives.

“Of course, it is abundantly clear that doctors do not have to disclose risks inherent in medical treatment when patients do not wish to learn about them” (in Montgomery, the court compared this to a hypothetical patient who chooses not to read the information leaflet enclosed with their medicine). “However, doctors should not assume that patients do not want to be informed about potential risks,” he said.

He stated that doctors must not fail to disclose material risks associated with treatment simply because “they wish to prohibit patients from making what the doctor believes to be a ‘unwise’ decision.”

“It could therefore be seen as negligent for a health care professional to fail to disclose the material risks of the medical treatment,” he said.

Trade Union

One trade union, the only one of its kind, has stated that it is challenging employees’ behavior regarding vaccines.
Stephen Morris, general secretary of the Workers of England Union (WEU), told The Epoch Times via email that he has seen professional health workers promote COVID-19 vaccines while failing to inform people of potential side effects.

“This has not gone away,” he explained.

In terms of side effects, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) reports cases of myocarditis or pericarditis following Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, mostly in younger men within a few days of vaccination.
Medical professionals reported fewer than 10,000 of the 355,000 reports of “serious” side effects to the Yellow Card reporting system.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) states that “conclusions on the safety and risks of the vaccines cannot be made on the data shown in the report alone.”

Myocarditis is listed as a rare risk on the NHS website, and most people who have it “recovered following rest and simple treatments.”
“Even now, the NHS promotes the COVID vaccine as’safe and effective,’ which contradicts the long list of adverse effects listed on the Yellow Card reporting system, as well as much more that has come to light.” “The WEU is the only trade union currently suing employers over their employees’ vaccine-related behavior,” Mr. Morris said.