Long Covid: Anger of a Midwife over the new no-pay NHS rule

A long-serving midwife said that she feels abandoned and angry after being abused by Covid for so many years.

Long Covid: Anger of a Midwife over the new no-pay NHS rule

A long-serving midwife said that she feels abandoned and angry after being abused by Covid for so many years.

New NHS sickness absence rules have meant Sarah Sutton (44), from Swansea will no longer be paid after 1/11.

While working as a midwife in a Neath Port Talbot Hospital community, she contracted the virus.

According to the Welsh government, NHS Wales and trade unions have agreed on new rules for Covid sick absences. These were effective from 1 July.

Sarah is now unable to walk for more than a few meters with the aid of a stick two years after contracting the virus.

The mother-of-4 also struggles to catch her breath, and is easily fatigued. She relies on her partner as well as her eldest daughters to take care of her.

New NHS Wales Covid absence rules will mean that she will receive half her pay starting in this month and nothing thereafter.

Hospitals have the option to increase sick pay to full pay "particularly in order to facilitate a gradual return to work". Sarah stated that her current health means she is unlikely to be able return to her dream job in the near future.

She stated, "I don't see me returning to work in November. That's going be zero pay and there's no way I can change it."

She stated that she was "abandoned", and added: "We went to do a job. This was before the first lockdown. We didn't have any PPE because that's when people stole thermometers, hand gels, and everything else from hospitals.

"We didn’t have masks, and the focus was on handwashing. Now we know that it’s airborne.

"I was doing my job. I was looking after people. I did what the NHS does. Then I fell ill."

Sarah stated that she understood why employers might not want a Covid sufferer for a long time.

"I cannot do a job. I'll need to take a break after this interview." Employers won't say "that's okay, take a break whenever you want" to many applicants.

"I can't concentrate on things long enough. I can't look at a computer screen long enough." Who will hire me, and what can I do? If I were an employer, I wouldn't. I am not useful in any way."

Sarah spent thousands of pounds on private consultations in Cardiff with a specialist in cardiac medicine and other treatments, including oxygen therapy and Chinese acupuncture in desperate attempts to get better.

Sarah graduated in 2019 with first-class honours in midwifery.

She was just four months into her role as a community midwife when she returned home from work at Neath Talbot Hospital in March 2020.

She was so worried that her partner called paramedics, and was taken to hospital.

Since then, she hasn't worked.

She was paid full-time, as per the Covid sickness absence arrangements of the Welsh government.

"My life is halted, I have no plans. My ten-year-old son Seth will ask if we can do something on the weekend. "Maybe," he'll reply.

Sarah, a mother of two, was happy and healthy before she contracted Covid. She took photos and went to the gym at the least three times per week.

Two years of illness has taken their toll.

Sarah stated that long Covid makes her tired and so breathless that she couldn't even take Seth to a party last weekend.

The venue was on the second floor and had no elevator.

She was unable to take him on a tour at his secondary school so one of his other parents took him around while she waited in the school hall.

She has lost her strength and ability to be the parent she desires. The virus has also taken away her memory and concentration.

The family is looking for ways to stay afloat financially.

Sarah stated, "Especially when things are the way they currently are and with the high cost of living, it can be scary."

She stated that she would do "above the call" to work, just like the rest of the NHS staff. "But it feels as if no-one is fighting me apart from myself and I don't have the energy... especially when your body is running on empty before you even get out of bed."

The BBC approached Sarah's employer Swansea Bay University Health Board and was referred the Welsh government.

A spokesperson for the Welsh government said that the arrangements for Covid sickness absence were made by the NHS Wales and the trade unions starting on July 1. This was to facilitate the return to the national terms and conditions applicable to all absences.

"Organisations may look at individual circumstances and determine different pay arrangements."