Car raffle helps Peterborough care provider minimise unvaccinated staff losses

A Peterborough care provider has kept unvaccinated staff losses to a minimum - after offering all staff who were jabbed a chance to win a car.
Emma with the carEmma with the car
Emma with the car

Peterborough specialist care provider, PJ Care, says raffling the car has helped to reduce the number of staff leaving due to mandatory vaccinations to just 3.5%.

The company offered the prize to any of its staff who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after the government ruled that anyone working in a care setting with adults aged 65 and over must be fully vaccinated by the November 11.

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When the announcement was made in September the provider, which runs the Eagle Wood neurological care centre in the city, and two others in Milton Keynes, was facing losing 140 of its near 600 staff. But after a comprehensive information programme and the issuing of self-exemption rules by the government, the number set to leave is currently 20.

Chairman, Neil Russell said; “While the offer of a car was an incentive for some, we also wanted staff to see it as a recognition of all the hard work they’d put in during the last 18 months, and the dedication they show to our residents every day.

“Recruiting and training new staff is expensive and takes time so while this might seem like an expensive gesture, it has actually saved us money in not having to bring as many new people in. We do have vacancies to fill, though, so we are looking for housekeeping staff, nurses, carers and new members of our maintenance team. But we count ourselves fortunate to be in a better position than we were anticipating. We know many other care providers are struggling to find enough staff to continue to offer the care people in their communities need.”

Emma Hack, a housekeeper at Eagle Wood on Bretton Way, was the lucky winner of the brand-new Renault Clio E-Tech.

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She said: “I didn’t ever think I would win,” she said. “I was very happy to be vaccinated. I’ve worked for PJ Care for seven and a half years and I do enjoy it. They’ve done their best to help me make work fit around my family commitments and I’m part of a really good team. My son works here too! I think this prize shows how much they look after their staff.”