Nursing staff and doctors with long COVID are still being denied access to vital financial support, two years after the government’s own scientific advisory body called for ministers to take action, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reveals today [Saturday 16 November].
Thousands of health and care staff contracted long COVID during the pandemic, leading to serious health complications. It left many unable to continue working, forcing them out of work and into huge losses in earnings.
Nursing staff with the condition report severe hardship, including having to draw from their pensions to meet living costs.
It comes as new data from the RCN’s member advice line shows it has received thousands of calls since January 2022 from nursing staff seeking help with long COVID [NOTES]. The College says these figures are likely the tip of the iceberg with many more suffering in silence.
On 16 November 2022, the UK government’s Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), recommended COVID complications be recognised as having been acquired at work, giving staff more routes to access vital Industrial Injuries and Disablement Benefits (IIDB).
Currently IIDB covers more than 70 diseases, including asthma, emphysema and deafness, but COVID is not yet listed, making it a challenge for health and care staff to secure financial support.
In its report, the IIAC concluded that for those working in health and care services “there is a significantly increased risk of infection, subsequent illness, and death. The Council therefore feels that there is sufficient evidence to recommend prescription for these workers.”
Now, in a letter to the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall, unions representing the UK’s nursing and doctor workforce describe the failure to act on the IIAC recommendations and prescribe the disease as occupational as a ‘betrayal’, urging the government to take action.
In the letter, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger and BMA Chair Professor Phil Banfield, say:
“Healthcare workers who contracted long COVID are facing monumental health struggles, with many forced out of their jobs and into early retirement. This has been devastating, not only to their professional pride but also to their personal finances. After years of dedicated service, they must jump through hoops to access benefits, spending retirement funds that should have been saved for later in life. For healthcare workers to be treated this way, considering their key role during the pandemic, amounts to a deep betrayal—and must be rectified.”
Chris, 47, was a newly-qualified nurse during the pandemic and worked on a gastrology ward in England, before he caught the disease just 6 weeks into his new job. He said:
“There was an outbreak on the ward and many patients and staff were affected. I was absent from work for 10 weeks with serious symptoms. Paramedics were called to my home. I wasn’t able to return to work full time. At this point all I could do was work or sleep. The fatigue was incredible. I had no home life.
“I had a dramatic relapse in September 2021 and haven’t worked since. Long COVID has left me with heart issues, as well as problems with my kidneys. I also now have liver disease.
“I have gone from being a new nurse, to relying on my pension, which comes out at around £500 each month. Without some benefits and my wife continuing to work, I wouldn’t survive.
“My former employer won’t confirm where I contracted COVID and have closed ranks on me. I feel totally broken. It’s not fair that nursing staff put themselves at great risk during the pandemic and have now been hung out to dry. Ministers have to do something.”
Jacqueline, 56, was an infection prevention nurse working in an acute NHS trust during the pandemic. She contracted COVID at work, which later led to serious health complications, forcing her out of her job. She said:
“I had been a nurse for over 35 years before I contracted Covid-19 on three occasions. I felt compelled to return to work earlier than I should to support my colleagues despite struggling with breathlessness and on-going fatigue. On one occasion I arrived in work so unwell my manager referred me directly to A&E. I was later found to have a potentially life-threatening immune condition as a consequence of COVID. It was very frightening, and I was later diagnosed with long COVID.
“I had no intention of retiring from my role but am now left with significant lost earnings all thanks to a disease I caught during the course of my work. Like many thousands of other NHS staff, I find myself struggling, virtually having to beg for financial support. It's disgraceful. The Government were quick to call on NHS staff during the Covid crisis, it should exercise that same urgency and duty to look after those whose lives have been devastated by this disease.”
Alongside a letter to the secretary of state, the RCN has also written to the chair of the work and pensions select committee, urging it to question the government as to why it has not acted upon the IIAC recommendations.
Globally, more than 50 countries have recognised COVID as an occupational disease.
The IIAC identified five serious health complications from COVID-19 that have caused impairment and loss of function. These are: Persisting pneumonitis or lung fibrosis; Persisting pulmonary hypertension; Ischaemic stroke; Myocardial infarction and Symptoms of Post Intensive Care Syndrome following ventilatory support treatment for COVID-19.
Ends
Notes to editors
FULL LETTER TEXT:
Rt. Hon. Liz Kendall MP
Dear Secretary of State,
Re: Urgent Action Needed on Long COVID as an Occupational Disease – Two-Year Anniversary of IIAC Report
This Saturday, 16 November, marks two years since the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) published its command paper, COVID-19 and Occupational Impacts, recommending that certain complications following COVID-19 infection be recognised as an occupational disease for health and social care workers. The government’s prolonged delay in responding to these recommendations is increasingly difficult to justify, making immediate action essential. In fact, in the two years IIAC published its command paper the understanding of these disabling conditions has only increased.
This issue remains an urgent priority for the many nursing staff and doctors suffering from long COVID, many of whom have had their work and home lives severely curtailed. While much of this delay predates the current government, it is now firmly within your power—and responsibility—to address this long-standing gap. The IIAC’s recommendations were a crucial first step in recognising the risks that health and care workers took on during the pandemic. Other countries, over 50 in total, have moved to recognise COVID-19 as an occupational disease, putting systems in place to support affected workers and offer corresponding compensation and support schemes. Yet, in the UK, nursing staff and doctors who were on the frontlines are still waiting for this basic level of recognition and support.
Healthcare workers who contracted long COVID are facing monumental health struggles, with many forced out of their jobs and into early retirement. This has been devastating, not only to their professional pride but also to their personal finances. After years of dedicated service, they must jump through hoops to access benefits, spending retirement funds that should have been saved for later in life. For healthcare workers to be treated this way, considering their key role during the pandemic, amounts to a deep betrayal—and must be rectified.
In April, in response to a Written Parliamentary Question from Paul Blomfield about the DWP’s progress on the IIAC recommendations, the reply stated that the assessment was ‘ongoing’. Health and care workers who risked their health in service to the public deserve better than continued delays and evasive answers.
This government has the opportunity to act decisively where past administrations have failed, demonstrating to health and care workers that their sacrifices have not been forgotten. Implementing the IIAC’s recommendations should merely be the first step. We urge you to prioritise this issue, provide a timeline for action, and outline the measures the DWP will take to ensure nursing staff, doctors and other frontline workers receive the support they need.
The RCN and the BMA would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your officials to discuss a way forward. Health and care workers have waited long enough, and it is past time for the support and recognition they deserve.
We look forward to your immediate response, confirming the steps you will take to bring this long-delayed issue to resolution.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Nicola Ranger,
RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive
Professor Phil Banfield,
Chair, BMA Council
The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council report and recommendations, published 16 November 2022 - COVID-19 and Occupational Impacts - GOV.UK
In November 2023, the RCN and BMA wrote to the Department for Work and Pensions to demand action over long COVID – HERE
