A nurse with 28 years of NHS service says she was “sacked” because she is unlikely to recover from the Covid she caught at work.
Brenda Eadie says she has been cast aside and told to contact the benefits office, without any word on her NHS pension, four weeks befor Christmas. She said: “I feel like a Crunchie wrapper, they have had all the good part of me and now the rest is being thrown out.”
Jackie Baillie, Labour’s health spokeswoman, said: “This is an appalling way to treat someone who has dedicated the best part of her working life to the NHS. They should have sorted out her pension and not left her to rely on benefits when she is ill with long Covid.
“I know others in similar situations … we have exposed them to the greatest risk, they have long Covid and … the Scottish Government and health boards are treating them badly.”
Brenda, 45, was employed by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde ( NHSGGC ) at several hospitals. She took up a post in a prison eight weeks before catching Covid at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
She said: “We had no proper PPE at the start and we had to keep taking our masks off because of prison security. I didn’t feel safe.”
Brenda was in hospital on oxygen for two days but was sent home with a nebuliser because there were not enough hospital beds. She became unable to get out of bed for four weeks. She managed to return to work that August but collapsed two months later and went off sick again.
She put in a request for a transfer back to a hospital setting and did a few shifts on a ward in Glasgow while waiting, but couldn’t cope. A brief secondment working from home for Trace and Protect ended in November 2021 when her brain fog worsened. Her hands are also affected.
Brenda accepted she would be unable to return to work because of debilitating long Covid, but she had expected the health board would have sorted her pension before terminating her employment.
She said: “I had agreed to take retirement due to ill health but at no stage did I think I would be sent a letter terminating my employment with immediate effect and pointing me in the direction of the benefits office. I have been left with no money right before Christmas.”
Brenda added: “I am absolutely disgusted with the way I have been treated. The Scottish Government should have something in place for people like me, after all this is an industrial injury.”
Scottish Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton called Brenda’s treatment “a slap in the face, not just for her but for many people in her position” and called for an urgent review of HR practices in the health board.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We recognise and how debilitating Long Covid is for many people across Scotland and sympathise with those affected. From the start of the pandemic, NHS Scotland staff absent due to Covid-related symptoms received full pay under temporary Special Leave measures until August 31 this year - nearly two months after England and Wales.
“At that point staff returned to their contractual sick leave entitlement, which for the majority meant a further six months of full pay followed by six months of half pay.”
A spokesman from NHS GGC said: “While we do not discuss the individual circumstances of any of our staff, past or present, especially if health issues have arisen, we always ensure that all appropriate processes are followed in relation to matters regarding staff employment.”
Virus grocery alert
Experts say the virus that causes Covid-19 can live on some ready-to-eat groceries for days. But the scientists have advised that the risk to consumers remains very low.
Food Standards Agency testers smeared the virus on packaging and food including fruit and bottled drinks. Most foods tested had a significant drop in levels over the first 24 hours but it was detected for several days under some conditions on peppers, bread crusts, ham and cheese. It was present for several hours on croissants and pains au chocolat.
The study’s authors urged the public to follow hygiene guidance.
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