‘My career is ruined, just by going to work’: Long covid sufferer speaks out

“IT was a Level 5 lockdown when I caught covid and the only place I was, was work, in a place where covid was rampant,” a Cork healthcare worker has claimed.

“It’s a massive cross hanging over us — I’m sick now since January 2021, I’m no better, I don’t feel like I’m progressing,” said Mairéad*.

Approximately 120 healthcare sector workers suffering from long covid were being paid their full salaries until the end of March. That arrangement has ended, and now they are being paid sick pay as set out in their contract. However, this is time-limited.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health explained: “Any employee of the public health sector remaining unwell after that date, may utilise the full provisions of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme which will provide further support. The circa 120 employees impacted by the conclusion of the Special Scheme have received notification of this from their employer.

“The sick leave scheme provides full pay for three months, followed by half pay for three months, and after that, Temporary Rehabilitative Remuneration may be applied for, which, if granted, provides up to a further 547 days of paid leave. The Critical Illness Protocol that forms part of the sick leave scheme may also provide additional supports if granted.”

While Mairéad is somewhat hopeful that ongoing talks between the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and other unions with the Government in the Workers Relations Commission will produce a short-term fix, she and others like her are frustrated about being put in the position in the first place and point to other countries in the EU where long covid is treated as an occupational illness.

“Ireland is one of only two EU member states that hasn’t listed covid as occupational illness for healthcare workers, Greece is the other one.

“An EU Commission recommended that member states list it as occupational illness, but because its only a recommendation it’s up to each EU member state what to do.”

Mairéad highlighted a recent response by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to a Dáil query from Cork North Central People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry. Mr Varadkar said it would “be difficult to explain” to someone with another illness why their employment rights would be different from those with long covid.

“The suggestion is that people acquired long covid at work, but that is not necessarily the case,” he said.

“Most people acquired covid-19 in their homes where they spent most of their time — that may not have been the case for everyone but it was generally the case,” he added.

However, Mairéad claims she contracted the virus at work.

“In January 2021 I was unvaccinated and we were provided with inadequate Personal Protection Equipment.”

She recalled becoming ‘symptomatic’ in January 2021.

“My initial infection was fairly mild, I wasn’t too sick,” said Mairéad. “But it’s been the long covid symptoms that have been the killer.

“I got sick in early January and by mid February I still wasn’t feeling right, I knew there was something wrong.”

She raised her concerns with her GP and occupational health at work.

“The symptoms which I still have now would be fatigue, brain fog, tachycardia (which is a fast heart beat), shortness of breath, nerve pain, muscle pain, I get bad nausea.

“In December 2020 I was a perfectly healthy person — by the end of January 2021, that healthy person was gone and hasn’t come back.”

She said she has been diagnosed with long covid by a number of healthcare professionals, who she praised for looking after her, but added: “Unfortunately there’s no standard test for long covid, there’s no blood test and it is harder to diagnose.”

She’s also critical of the decision in December 2020 to allow families to gather for ‘a meaningful Christmas’.

“There was a lot of fear in those early days, people were afraid to leave their houses, it was scary.

“Looking back on it the Government should have never opened the country for Christmas in 2020 — that was a mistake, they were calling it a meaningful Christmas, that was a big blunder,” she believes.

“In January 2021, in the hospitals, it was hell.”

As well as her illness, another issue Mairéad has to deal with is the related expenses.

“Any medication I’m on I obviously pay for myself, any appointment with a consultant is about €300 and I have to pay for that even though I have VHI, I’m paying everything out of my own pocket.

“My monthly prescription, and this is just for prescription meds, is about €80 and I spend more money on supplements and they’re not covered under the drug payments scheme even if they’re prescribed — I would say in the last three years I’ve spent up to five grand on appointments, on supplements, on medication.”

Given how health-care workers were lauded as heroes at the height of the pandemic, Mairéad’s current situation, along with others facing a similar future of constant illness, is “very, very frustrating” and “disappointing”, she said.

“What’s happening is so insulting. We did what was asked of us, we went to work, we did our best,” she continued. “Now our health is ruined, my career is ruined just because I went to work.

“It’s a very bitter pill to swallow really.

“My career is stopped. We’ve missed out on job promotions, on opportunities to progress in our career and importantly we’re financially affected and we’re down a lot of money.”

Mairéad remains hopeful that another temporary pay resolution will be achieved but she’s not confident this will happen, nor that it will be left in place on a permanent basis.

• *Máiréad is not her real name.