In a statement to the hearing, the RCN said that on top of going into the pandemic with significant nursing vacancies across every area of care, members’ work was impacted day in, day out, by the pandemic and government decisions. This included what support was available to them in order to do their job and the toll the work took on their mental and physical health. Many became ill with COVID-19, sometimes on multiple occasions, others died. Many nursing staff are living with the effects of long COVID, the RCN told the hearing. The RCN is calling for long COVID to be recognised as a disability in law and that those impacted by long covid are compensated where that is required.
The impact hearings are being held to allow individuals and groups to tell their story of how the pandemic affected them. We believe that the collective nursing voice should be heard because nursing staff were hugely affected.
The strategic decisions made by government had a physical, mental and emotional impact. We told the hearing how RCN members attended work despite not feeling well enough to perform their duties. They had to wear PPE for extended periods, causing damage to their skin and contributed to fatigue and heat stress. They felt depressed, anxious and stressed, with probable post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses increasing. In addition, they were being presented with professional dilemmas, such as whether or not to treat patients without wearing PPE. Members faced stressful fitness to practise referrals where their decisions on such matters were challenged.
Commenting, Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Director, said:
“The nursing voice needs to be heard at all stages of this inquiry and our members’ experiences properly acknowledged. RCN members were at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19 and we will always remember the commitment to their patients and the sacrifice of those who sadly passed away and those who continue to suffer serious long-term mental and physical effects, including long COVID.
“Lessons must be learned so the impact that has been felt since the COVID-19 pandemic is never repeated. But planning for the next pandemic can’t wait for the outcome of this inquiry – it must begin now because we just don’t know when the next pandemic will hit.”
