This week’s blog is written by Roger Kline (@rogerkline).
One in nine nurses left the NHS last year. One Department of Health and Social Care policy will make things worse.
The Office of National Statistics estimated (18 May 2021) that approximately 122,000 healthcare workers and 31,000 social care workers were self-reporting symptoms of Long Covid. More than a third (35%) of the above patients stated they were experiencing Long Covid symptoms more than a year after their first suspected infection, and almost two thirds (65%) said their symptoms limited their daily activities. It was months before employers fully implemented statutory risk assessments on the workplace.
The Government’s decision to scrap extended sick pay for NHS staff with Long Covid is directly punishing some of the very staff who risked their lives to care for others with Covid. NHS staff who worked selflessly to save other peoples’ lives despite the risk of catching Covid themselves now find themselves being made redundant after being diagnosed with Long Covid. These staff (and their families) are now facing financial ruin.
Continue reading “Long Covid: A catalogue of shame“