An NHS worker has been given a 47% chance of surviving the next 20 years after developing a rare autoimmune disease thought to be a result of his exposure to Covid while working on the frontline in hospitals during the pandemic.
Back in 2020, former IT worker Piers Meynell, now aged 46, was excited to switch careers and qualify as a trainee nurse. He was just finishing his course when the pandemic hit in March, 2020. Deciding he still wanted to help, Piers signed up as a health care support worker in Morriston Hospital to look after the first wave of Covid patients.
“I was doing shifts in the Emergency Department right at the start of the first wave," explained Piers. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
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“It was a complete unknown. We saw what was happening in Italy with hospitals overwhelmed, so we scrambled, almost on a war footing, to cope with that level of threat. Fortunately, we were able to mitigate it and manage the first wave, although the toll it took on the staff I worked alongside was heavy.”
While working on the frontline during the pandemic, Piers started to feel weak, tired and had night sweats. Fearing that he may have been infected from work, Piers sought a Covid test but they were not widely available at the time. Occupational health assessed his symptoms and told him he had Covid which only marked the beginning of Piers' health problems. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
“Rather than recovering, I progressively got worse. I would rally a little, but then deteriorate further. Eventually my GP became concerned about one of my blood tests," said Piers. “They identified that there was a problem with how one of my kidneys was functioning. Then they sent me to hospital. They carried out a kidney biopsy and identified autoimmune disease. It causes widespread problems with organs.”
Doctors told Piers that, possibly due to his exposure to Covid, he had developed a disease called inflammatory vasculitis, a condition which cannot be cured. Although his disease can be managed with treatment, the future looks uncertain for the NHS worker. “Unfortunately, this condition is highly prone to relapse on infection and the chances of survival for 20 years are something like 47%. So, it’s not great."
Piers said the ordeal had put a stop to his nursing career before it had even started but he still works in the hospital as a lab practitioner away from patients where there is less risk.
Still dealing with the aftermath of his time working in Morriston Hospital's emergency department during the first wave of the pandemic, Piers is urging people to get their autumn Covid boosters as he said infection rates were still worryingly high. I think the attitude now is that Covid is over, that it’s not something that we have to worry about. But the current infection levels are really high. There’s only been something like 50 days within the last two years where it’s been higher.
“My message to people is, ‘get a booster and still take sensible precautions’. Ideally, people would wear a face covering. That’s an individual choice that people have to take, but I would definitely recommend getting a booster."
Covid infection rates are on the increase again due to waning immunity and the lack of social distancing, said Keith Reid, Swansea Bay’s Executive Director of Public Health. Despite the threat of growing Covid rates, Piers was happy to be back working in Morriston Hospital- even if it was not quite the patient-facing role he once dreamt of.
"What’s key for me is working as part of the NHS. I’ve done a variety of roles, being self-employed, working in IT, working as a waiter, but working for the NHS has been the most rewarding but also challenging job that I have done. Yes, I would probably be safer working by building websites alone at home, but I would rather be here making myself useful.”
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