A recent ONS survey showed that an estimated 2.3 million people in the UK suffer from long COVID. Of these, nearly 10 thousand NHS workers are currently absent because of long COVID, according to a recent BBC panorama documentary (writes FOYSOL CHOUDHURY MSP).
Sadly, many of these key workers have contracted Covid-19 through their essential work to save lives during the worst of the pandemic, having been put more at risk by working on the frontline, often without adequate PPE.
Now, a far cry from the weekly applauses and hero’s welcome given during the COVID-19 lockdowns, key workers with long COVID have sadly been seemingly abandoned and forced to face severe financial impact due to contracting COVID-19 in their line of work.
It is simply unacceptable that these same key workers who risked their lives are now in a position where they are being forced to declare themselves bankrupt or to sell their house, as they face the prospect of halved and altogether stopped standard sick pay.
This is the situation my constituent Cass Macdonald is in. On Tuesday, I spoke in my colleague, Jackie Baillie’s, debate on long COVID to highlight the impact of long COVID on my constituents like Cass.
Cass was a full-time NHS nurse who contracted COVID-19 when they were advised it was safe to work in an office nursing role, despite multiple underlying health conditions and advice by the same Government to shield.
Shockingly, the Keyworker Petition UK team’s recent survey showed that Cass is part of the 20% of key workers with long COVID surveyed who said they were at risk of losing their home due to financial circumstances. The survey also showed that 68.7% of those surveyed said they were struggling financially. This is simply unacceptable. But not only are key workers with long COVID facing unacceptable financial burden-they also have to battle with a health service which does not properly understand the complex nature and consequences of long COVID.
Another of my constituents, Marie-Claire, who is an NHS doctor with long COVID, told me that there was growing stigma towards long COVID in the medical community and that her colleagues often had little understanding about the severity or specifics of the illness. When key workers are having to battle long COVID and the severe financial impact of contracting this condition, they should not also have to face the frustrating situation of having to educate the public, politicians and medical professionals on this debilitating condition.
On Wednesday, Cass and other key workers will deliver a petition with over 118, 000 backers to Westminster, urging the UK Government to create a pension and compensation scheme for all keyworkers who have developed long COVID as a result of their frontline, and often not adequately protected, work during the pandemic.
As noted in my speech on Tuesday, the Scottish Government has a role to play too. Not only must it do more to ensure adequate support and compensation for key workers who are struggling with long COVID, but it has an important role to play in reducing the stigma around long COVID and ensuring that health authorities in Scotland have the tools to adequately identify and treat long COVID in patients. Recent figures suggest that up to 175, 000 people in Scotland have reported suffering from long COVID, which is approximately 3.3% of the population.
The Scottish Government must ensure employers are supported in recognising the importance of flexibility and phased returns to work for employees with long COVID. It must do more to increase public awareness of the dangers of long COVID and highlight how you could be affected by this despite being vaccinated.
TODAY 15th of March is International Long COVID Awareness Day. I’ve lodged questions to the Scottish Government on support for key workers with long COVID before and now I am imploring the Scottish Government again, in recognition of this day, to act now to help people like Cass, Marie-Claire and the thousands of others suffering from long COVID across Scotland.