INMO conference calls for urgent action on “long COVID”

emergency services HSE coronavirus Nurse vaccine IMNO

Frontline nurses and midwives experiencing long-term COVID symptoms are not getting the medical or employment supports they need, the INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) Annual Delegate Conference has warned.

The union’s conference will hear from four nurses today (Friday 07-05-21) speaking of ongoing severe symptoms from a COVID infection months later, including:

– Extreme exhaustion

– Brain fog

– Difficulty breathing

– Heart problems

– Vision impairment

The conference will debate two motions relating to long COVID. The union is calling for government and employer measures including tailored medical supports, research into long COVID impacts, a guarantee that healthcare workers with long COVID won’t face income cuts, and flexible rehabilitation back into work.

More than 7,500 nurses and midwives have contracted COVID-19 in Ireland – over a quarter of all COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers.

INMO President and nurse, Karen McGowan said:

“Long COVID is a condition that takes so much out of people and they’re simply not being treated fairly.

“We are all looking forward to a time after this pandemic – but we cannot forget those who took great risks to provide care and are being left in the lurch.

“The very least they deserve is long-term certainty about their employment and income rights, and a guarantee of medical care.”

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said:

“COVID can be a long-term, debilitating illness. People need to know where they stand, medically and in terms of work.

“The HSE need to lead the charge on this and implement the measures that our members are calling for. This is a condition people are acquiring at work, and their workplaces need to step up and give them the support they need. “

“From a symptom point of view, it’s the absolute extreme exhaustion”. INMO members talk to @dreddiemurphy about their experiences and the challenges of long COVID at the INMO #ADC2021. Watch at https://t.co/OK3Nj9oDrf pic.twitter.com/dMTzACNDJr

— Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (@INMO_IRL) May 7, 2021