Hundreds of health workers at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (PCT) are yet to receive their first vaccinations, according to recent figures.

The government is soon to announce whether vaccines will be mandatory for frontline NHS staff, with a government consultation on the topic ending on October 22.

The vast majority of health workers in the NCA and PCT are vaccinated, although there remain hundreds from each who are yet to have had their first jab as of the end of September.

Figures show that 816 workers (8 per cent) at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (PAH), which has now become part of the NCA, had not received their first jab at the end of September. As for PCT, who provide mental health and learning disability services, 350 workers (8.4 per cent) had not had their first vaccination.

Both trusts did boast a first vaccination rate of over 90 per cent and are both in line with 92.4 per cent of staff to have had their first jab at NHS Trusts throughout the country.

A spokesperson from the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which formally acquired PAH in October 2021, said: "Our staff Covid-19 vaccination programme has been incredibly popular with latest data broadly in line with the rest of the NHS.

"All individual members of staff are risk assessed for where they work and if there are medical reasons why they can’t be vaccinated."

Clare Parker, executive director of nursing at PCT, said: "We are really pleased with the excellent uptake of the Covid vaccine amongst our staff with nearly 92% having received their first dose – which is in line with other NHS trusts across the country.

"We continue to promote the vaccine to all our staff as it is the best protection to keep everyone safe."

There has been much talk about vaccine mandates for health workers, with staff in care homes having to be fully vaccinated from November 11.

Several leading health bodies have pushed back on the idea of mandatory vaccines for frontline workers, saying they will impact the number of staff at a time when they need as many people working as possible.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said although a vaccine mandate for frontline workers could have its advantages, work would have to be done "to ensure there was no adverse impact on staff retention and recruitment."

Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, added that not only would it have implications for staff numbers but it could also cause "resentment and mistrust" amongst workers.