Posted 31 January 2023 - 10:00
Posted 31 January 2023 - 10:00
News
Thousands of nurses with long-COVID to see sick pay slashed
Special sick pay brought in during the pandemic for NHS staff will end soon, with one nurse with long-covid left £1,000 a month worse off
Special sick pay brought in during the pandemic for NHS staff will end soon, with one nurse with long-covid left £1,000 a month worse off
Thousands of nurses with long-COVID are to see their sick pay slashed as changes to COVID-related pay come into play next month.
An investigation by the BBC’s Panorama that aired on Monday night estimated between 5,000 to 10,000 NHS staff are currently off sick with long-COVID.
Many staff caught the virus while at work during the pandemic, some of whom did not have access to appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) while treating COVID-19 patients.
Nurse with long-COVID says there wasn’t proper PPE or enough scrubs to go around
Registered nurse Rachel Hext was diagnosed with long-COVID and has not worked for more than two years. She told Panorama that she suffers with joint pain, muscle pain, loss of the senses of smell and taste, loss of hearing in her left ear and a ‘wave of allergies’, which means she now has to carry an EpiPen.
The nurse told how she was infected in October 2020 after her ward at a community hospital in Devon was transformed into a COVID-19 ward. It was during the second wave of the pandemic and before vaccines were available.
‘Without any notice I was just called one morning to say that over the last few days it had been changed into a COVID contact ward, and that I should bring some spare clothes with me because there wasn’t enough scrubs to go around,’ said Ms Hext. She said she felt like a ‘rabbit in the headlights’ and her ward was ‘absolute chaos’.
‘By the time you’d looped your surgical mask round your ears I had massive gaping holes in my cheeks,’ she added. ‘The first wave should have taught us lessons. We didn’t have proper PPE, we didn’t have scrubs to fit us.’
Nurse wants government to recognise that staff should have been better protected
Special sick pay for NHS staff was brought in during the pandemic to support those off work with COVID or long-COVID. Those provisions were scrapped last year, with many on a six-month transition period, meaning their payments will end soon.
Due to the changes in sick pay Ms Hext’s salary will be cut by £1,000 per month when she returns to normal contractual sick pay arrangements. She has now made a legal claim for NHS Injury Allowance as she caught the virus at work.
Ms Hext said although she realises the NHS cannot pay her forever, she wants to the government to recognise that staff should have been better protected.
Number of health workers who caught COVID-19 at work unknown due to gaps in data records
Also featured in the programme was Dr Natalie McDermott, who has to use a mobility scooter after catching COVID-19 twice at the start of the pandemic while working at a London trust.
She said she flagged concerns over the inadequate and inconsistent use of PPE across the trust but was told that government guidelines were being followed. She has since moved to a different employer.
Three years on, the Panorama investigation claims we still do not know how many health workers caught COVID-19 at work during the pandemic due to gaps in data records.
The government told the BBC that the COVID-19 public inquiry will examine these issues when it begins taking evidence in May.
Further information
- BBC: Thousands of NHS staff with long Covid risk losing their pay
- BBC Panorama: Forgotten Heroes of the Covid Front Line
- NHS Employers: COVID-19 – NHS Staff Council joint guidance
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