Hundreds of British doctors, nurses and other health workers with long Covid – many of them now housebound or unable to work – are suing the health service for compensation, saying they were not given proper protection during the pandemic.
They say their lives have been devastated by a host of severe health complications, and that they were betrayed by their government after risking their lives on the frontline.
“People are really suffering financially. Some are living in poverty,” said nurse Rachel Hext, one of the almost 300 claimants, who added that they were suing “because this is the only way of providing for our futures”.
The claimants contrasted the weekly public displays of appreciation for National Health Service (NHS) workers at the height of the crisis with the lack of support they had received since becoming ill, and becoming “abandoned”.
The claimants include consultants, doctors, nurses and hospital porters, many of whom are in debt or using up savings to survive, reports Context News.
They say they were not given adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), including high-grade masks, and often had to rely on flimsy surgical masks.
More than 200 symptoms have been linked to long Covid, including cognitive impairment or “brain fog”, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath and chronic pain.
The lawsuit is unlikely to be heard by the High Court before 2026 at the earliest because of Britain’s ongoing public inquiry into the handling of the Covid crisis in which more than 230 000 people died.
The defendants, who include NHS bodies covering most of England and Wales, have denied negligence and breach of duty.
Lost income
Hext (37) said she caught Covid in 2020 while working 13-hour shifts at a hospital in southwest England. She was given just a plastic apron and basic mask, which gaped at the sides.
She is now deaf, has blurred vision, joint and mobility problems, severe allergies and a condition which causes her heart to race and leaves her feeling ill.
“I’ve lost my health, my career, very much my identity – and that’s before you even start on the financial implications,” she said.
An official study in April estimated 2m people had long Covid in England and Scotland, with nearly 20% of participants reporting it seriously affected daily life.
Experts believe thousands of health workers are affected.
A 2023 survey of about 600 doctors with long Covid showed nearly one in five were no longer working, and less than a third were working full-time.
About half had lost income because of long Covid, according to the study published by the British Medical Association (BMA) doctors’ union. Only a minority had had access to high-grade masks.
Bitter and betrayed
Doctors and nurses are separately calling for the government to recognise long Covid as an occupational disease for health and social care workers, opening the door to compensation.
One hospital porter, who joined the NHS after a military career, said he felt better protected serving in Iraq than working during the pandemic.
He said the availability of PPE was very variable and that porters and cleaners working on Covid wards often struggled to access the same protection as doctors and nurses.
A nurse said she was left homeless after severe Covid-related complications forced her to quit work. She has moved house 16 times while ill, compromising her recovery.
Some young doctors with hefty student loans have had to move back to their parents after long Covid derailed their careers.
Amy Small (44) a GP who lost her job six months after becoming sick in April 2020, has spearheaded calls for long Covid to be recognised as an occupational illness.
“I feel bitter and absolutely betrayed. We said very early on that Covid was airborne, but no one would listen to us,” she said.
She added that another pandemic was possible, but feared the country was no better prepared than it was before Covid.
“It's terrifying. Doctors still don't have access to adequate PPE,” she said.
Two years ago, the government’s advisory body on industrial injuries recommended certain long Covid conditions be recognised as an occupational disease for health and social care workers. It recently made a similar recommendation for some transport workers.
But the government has yet to respond. A spokesperson said it was still assessing the recommendations.
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Context News article – UK doctors and nurses with long COVID to sue for compensation (Open access)
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UK health workers await Covid compensation hearing
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One in five UK hospital patients caught COVID-19 while on wards — SAGE paper