One in five doctors with long Covid forced to stop working

One in five doctors with long Covid has been forced to stop working because of the severity of their symptoms, according to a British Medical Association report that calls for long Covid to be recognised as an ‘occupational disease’.

Eighteen per cent of respondents said they were on long-term sick leave and were not currently working because of the impact of long Covid.

Just 31% were working full-time, compared with 57% before long Covid, the Over-exposed and under-protected: the long-term impact of Covid-19 on doctors report found.

The NHS is struggling with chronic staff shortages, and last week the government published a long-term workforce plan for England which sets out how it plans to attract and retain doctors and other health professionals.

Another recent survey from the BMA found workforce shortages were having an impact on doctors’ wellbeing, with one in five at risk of burnout.

Its latest report from the BMA and the Long Covid Doctors for Action group found that more needed to be done to support doctors with long Covid who are well enough to return to work.

Two-thirds of the 603 doctors who responded to the survey, which was carried out between December 2022 and January 2023, said their long Covid symptoms had not been investigated thoroughly and effectively by an NHS long Covid clinic. Almost half reported not being referred to the clinics at all.

Six in 10 said that long Covid had impacted their ability to carry out day-to-day activities on a regular basis, while almost half reported loss of earnings.

They reported a wide range of symptoms including fatigue, headaches, ongoing respiratory problems, nerve damage, joint pain and muscular pain.

One consultant said: “Life is absolutely miserable. Every day is a struggle. I wake up exhausted, the insomnia and night terrors are horrendous as I live through my worst fears every night. Any activity such as eating meals, washing etc will mean I have to go to bed for a few hours. I am unable to look after myself or my child, exercise or maintain social relationships. I have no financial security. Long Covid has totally destroyed my life.”

Others reported being housebound or receiving little support to keep their jobs and homes.

Professor David Strain, BMA board of science chair, said: “We know that throughout the pandemic Covid-19 had a profound and often tragic impact on healthcare workers, but now this report and the heartbreaking accounts within it lay bare the debilitating effect that the virus continues to have on those doctors living with long-term symptoms.

“Contrary to what some may associate with the term ‘long Covid’, these doctors are not just ‘a bit tired’, nor are they ‘withdrawn due to the isolation of lockdowns’. They are living with a range of serious health conditions caused by their initial Covid-19 infection, most likely caught while they were caring for others on the front line.

“Even within the medical community, it’s clear from the survey findings that there needs to be much more awareness of the range of symptoms that long Covid encompasses, and far better availability of specialist care and support for those living with it.”

BMA occupational medicine committee co-chair Professor Raymond Agius said that, too often, risk assessments of workplaces and vulnerable doctors were not undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many did not have access to the right PPE.

“This report underlines the devastating consequences of this lack of protection. Doctors still living with continuing symptoms have once again been left at risk with little to no support from the system that they gave so much to,” he said.

“Those well enough to return to work need support in doing so, while those who are still too sick, need adequate financial compensation to ensure they are not driven to bankruptcy by an illness they caught in the line of duty.”

The report recommends that:

• the Department for Work and Pensions acts on the recommendations made by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council and considers the specific circumstances where long Covid should be recognised as an occupational disease for healthcare workers
• the government develops a package of financial support for healthcare workers with long Covid
• adequate funding is allocated for appropriate PPE
• access for NHS long Covid clinics is improved
• health education bodies fund increased occupational medicine training posts
• staff with long Covid are given priority access to occupational health.

Last month, figures obtained through freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats revealed that more than 2,400 nurses in Scotland have been forced to take sick leave because of symptoms of long Covid since 2020.

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