The Labour Court decision to extend a payment for healthcare workers with debilitating Long Covid until December 2025 is a welcome one, but more must be done, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, a former clinical psychologist with Long Covid services.<\/p>\n
Deputy Quaide said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government must recognise Long Covid as an occupational illness and provide for the long-term financial security of those healthcare workers who are affected.<\/p>\n
\u201c159 of these workers have been in receipt of their basic salary over the past 4-5 years – this is in recognition of the fact that they contracted the virus at the peak of
\nthe pandemic in high-risk settings such as hospital wards, often without adequate PPE, when much of the rest of the workforce was protected by working from home directives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey paid an enormous price in the form of persistent symptoms such as debilitating post-exertional malaise – \u201cthis level of physical depletion can mean being
\nunable to lift a cup of tea after what most people would consider mild exertion, or having to return to bed after dropping a child to school.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Covid can involve a range of symptoms that have a major impact on a person\u2019s capacity to work or carry out basic tasks – treatments for Long Covid are extremely limited and for some, their symptoms have not improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the sacrifices these healthcare workers made on all of our behalf, they have faced the loss of their financial security each year since as their unions have had to battle it out with the Department of Health in the WRC and Labour Court.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing on a cliff-edge regarding their financial security each year as this pay arrangement was due to end has been a source of huge additional stress – these workers now
\nface the loss of their income a few days after Christmas this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government keeps emphasising that they have extended the pay arrangement several times, as if the healthcare workers should be grateful, instead of acknowledging that these workers\u2019 sustained a serious workplace injury and should be compensated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany were infected in early January 2021 following the so-called \u2018meaningful Christmas\u2019 in which restrictions on movement were crudely lifted by the government against public health expert advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government needs to provide these healthcare workers with an occupational illness scheme instead of dragging them through a process of having to beg for their financial security through the employment courts every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
June 27th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Labour Court decision to extend a payment for healthcare workers with debilitating Long Covid until December 2025 is a welcome one, but more must be done, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, a former clinical psychologist with Long Covid services. Deputy Quaide said: \u201cThe government must recognise Long Covid as an occupational illness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,652,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-liam-quaide","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n