Wholesalers delivering to care homes have been forced to revert to ‘lockdown protocol’ following the announcement that all care home staff must be double jabbed.
The new legislation, which came into force this week, prevents not only caregivers from working within a home unless they are double jabbed, but also extends to tradespeople and ancillary staff who require access.
A number of wholesalers have told The Grocer the last thing they want to do is prevent drivers from working in this climate of shortages, and therefore will not be requiring delivery staff to be double jabbed in order to gain entry to care homes.
Instead, food and drink deliveries will be left at the door.
One wholesale CEO told The Grocer the impact will be felt “keenly by our customers” after it was forced to implement the contactless service for the second time this year.
Another wholesale executive added: “We’ve used the change as an opportunity to reiterate this policy to our own staff as well as to customers. But ultimately our message is, keep being safe, keep liaising with customers to ensure they’re clear that we’re delivering to the door.”
April 2022 will see the same rules apply to NHS staff, which will impact all wholesalers distributing food and drink to hospitals.
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