Calls to recognise Long Covid as an occupational disease after impact on ambulance services
More than 33,000 working days have been lost to Long Covid for ambulance services in the North West of England alone
Last updated 27th May 2022
Concerns are being raised over the impact Long Covid is having on ambulance services across the country.
New figures from politicians investigating the impact of the condition show that some ambulance staff have recorded absences lasting for as long as 18 months.
According to the most recent ONS statistics an estimated 1.2 million (1.9% of the population) are living with Long Covid, with fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of smell and difficulty concentrating reported as the most common symptoms.
Calls to recognise Long Covid as an occupational disease
The NHS trust have said that they've made adjustments for affected staff and that they are working to support their mental health and wellbeing.
There have been calls from local leaders urging the Government to recognise Long Covid as an occupational disease and for a compensation scheme for key workers to be introduced.
Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South and Vice-Chair of the APPG on Coronavirus, said:
“These statistics demonstrate the urgent need to recognise Long Covid as an occupational disease, provide formal guidance to employers on the issue and create a compensation scheme for key workers who have been unable to return to work.
“Many of these workers exposed themselves to the virus while saving others during the darkest days of this pandemic. The government cannot continue to ignore the sacrifices they have made while working to protect others.”
33,000 working days lost in North West alone
In one region, an ambulance service has lost over 33,000 working days to Long Covid.
North West Ambulance Service has had almost 400 staff off sick with covid-related illness from the start of the pandemic until September this year for more than 28 days at a time.
In one case a member of staff had been absent from work with Covid related sickness for 544 days, with four others absent for over a year.
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
“While much of the focus of the past two years has been on fighting the pandemic, there hasn’t been enough attention paid to the two lurking endemics that Covid is causing: in mental health and in Long Covid.
“These figures show the scale of the impact that Long Covid is having on people’s lives and their ability to work and provide for their families. Many of those suffering are frontline workers who we all stood and applauded last year. Much more needs to be done to understand and treat Long Covid and to properly support those who are still suffering from its effects.”