Long COVID and Digestive Symptoms: What the Research Tells Us
Research summary exploring digestive manifestations of Long COVID, including gut microbiome changes, IBS risk and potential treatment approaches.
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The Royal College of Nursing has highlighted Long Covid’s severe impact on nurses in submissions to the latest round of the UK’s COVID-19 inquiry (29/9/23). Many nurses are left with chronic illness after dedicated pandemic service, unable to work as before. The RCN supports designating long Covid a legal disability to protect affected nurses.
During the pandemic, short-staffing forced nurses to care for unsafe patient numbers, with inadequate PPE and support. Thousands hit breaking point, doubting they could continue nursing. The RCN said long-term government underinvestment left services ill-equipped for the pandemic strain.
Nurses faced daily fear of dying and separation from family to avoid infecting them. The RCN argues the inquiry should recommend legislation mandating accountable health workforce planning to handle future pandemics. Sustainable recruitment, retention and workforce strategy are needed.
The RCN warns failure to address nursing workforce issues like recruitment, retention and burnout remains a serious risk to pandemic preparedness. Hearings on the pandemic’s healthcare impact start in 2024, with the RCN chief detailing the heavy burden on nurses.
In June, the inquiry heard nursing groups were excluded from decisions during the pandemic. Long Covid’s toll shows this exclusion’s high cost. Justice demands urgent workforce action and compensation to support nurses suffering long-term effects of exemplary service.
The pandemic response leaned heavily on nurses’ sacrifice. They kept working amidst fear, separation, understaffing and inadequate protection. Abandoning them to long Covid’s impact now would be a grave injustice. We owe them support, justice and a healthcare system ready for the next pandemic.
You can read the full RCN submission here.
