Mark Langabeer (Hastings and Rye Labour member) reviews the recent Panorama documentary (which can be seen here).
Reporter, Catherine Burns, investigated the effects of Long Covid on NHS staff. Burns reports that health and care workers were twice as likely to contract Covid and twice as likely to die from it.
There are no actual figures for those that contracted the virus. A survey suggested that it could be as high as 90,000. There are no figures for those that contracted long Covid in England and Wales as there are for Northern Ireland and Scotland. The programme suggests that between 5,000 and 10,000 sufferers would be a fair estimate. Around 800 families received a one-off payment of £60,000 for those that died. This was on the proviso that they contracted Covid at work.
The needs of those that contracted long Covid, which has resulted in debilitating illness, have been neglected. Burns stated that they were once applauded; now they have been abandoned. Dr Natalie MacDermott, who contracted Covid twice and is confined to a wheelchair had written about her concerns about effective PPE. These concerns were also expressed by the trade unions.
Debates
There were, and still are, debates about how the virus is transmitted. It was thought that it was transmitted by coughs and sneezing. Dr Julian Tang, a Consultant Virologist stated that when he thought that it could be transmitted by particles that lingered in the air, it didn’t go down well with those that were responsible for controlling infections.
Back in 2020, a review on the handling of PPE and related matters was proposed. So far, no report has been given. A spokesperson for the BMA stated that it was vital that we should learn from those events so that deaths and debilitating diseases could be minimised in future.
It was reported that some deaths and illness cases were not reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) because Covid may have been contracted outside of the workplace. Neither is it recognised as an occupational disease, because symptoms are so wide ranging. Initially, sick pay was granted for as long as was required for recovery, but this has been changed and lengthy periods of sickness have resulted in a loss of income.
Collateral damage
A healthcare worker stated that long Covid had resulted in her dismissal and she was now registered as unemployed. She regarded herself as simply ‘collateral damage’. A grandmother stated that her daughter, a healthcare assistant, had died during childbirth because of Covid. Expectant mothers were regarded as vulnerable and pregnant women in healthcare settings shouldn’t have been working.
Prof David Strain, a spokesperson for the British Medical Association (BMA), felt anger over the response of government. A public enquiry is due to start this May. It could be years before those with long Covid in frontline services are given the dignity that they deserve.
This documentary reminded me of Lloyd George, the Prime Minister during the latter part of WW1. He said that troops returning from the trenches would have ‘homes fit for heroes’. This proved to be an illusion. The refusal of the government to offer a cost-of-living rise to all in the public sector shows the contempt that the Tories have for workers who risked their lives during the pandemic.
