What is our vision?

A future where UK healthcare workers (HCWs) living with Long Covid receive support and relief from financial hardship or isolation.

Our aims

Our aims are simple. In summary, to support UK healthcare workers who are living with long Covid we intend to:

  • Reduce financial hardship directly caused by Long Covid
  • Relieve isolation and ensure HCWs living with Long Covid have a voice.
  • Disseminate research and raise awareness of Long Covid
  • Support and advocate for HCWs living with Long Covid
  • Advocate for improvements in indoor air quality in healthcare settings

You can read more about what we intend to do on the Our Mission page.

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[vc_row type=”full_width_section” bg_image=”16405″ parallax_bg=”true” top_padding=”20″ bottom_padding=”20″ full_height=”true”][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column bg_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.48)” column_padding=”padding-3″ column_center=”true” text_color=”light” width=”2/3″][restart_spacer height=”20″][vc_custom_heading text=”What is our purpose?” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]To advocate for and support UK healthcare workers living with Long Covid.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”What is our vision?” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]A future where UK healthcare workers (HCWs) living with Long Covid receive support and relief from financial hardship or isolation.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”What is our mission?” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]To stand shoulder to shoulder with healthcare workers living with Long Covid.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”What are our aims?” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]To:

  • Reduce financial hardship caused by Long Covid
  • Relieve isolation and ensure HCWs living with Long Covid have a voice.
  • Disseminate research and raise awareness of Long Covid
  • Support and advocate for HCWs living with Long Covid
  • Advocate for improvements in indoor air quality in healthcare settings

[/vc_column_text][restart_spacer height=”20″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our mission is written into our “charitable objects” as approved by the Charities Commission. This is what they say:

  1. The prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship amongst healthcare workers across the UK who developed Long Covid during the course of their professional duties, whether or not they are still employed, by providing:
    a. Financial support with healthcare needs arising from Long Covid that are not provided by the statutory authorities;
    b. Financial support to meet a particular need that arises as a result of a drop in income; and
    c. Financial support to assist in the provision of education, training and all the necessary support to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient.
  2. The relief of sickness and the preservation of health of healthcare workers across the UK who developed Long Covid during the course of their professional duties, whether or not they are still employed, by:
    a. Raising awareness of Long Covid, its treatment, recovery and rehabilitation among health policymakers, healthcare providers and the general public;
    b. Making known to healthcare providers and health policymakers the views and lived experience of members of the general public suffering from or affected by Long Covid; and
    c. Supporting research into Long Covid, its diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation from it and the dissemination of useful results of such research for the public benefit.

For the purpose of these objects ‘Long Covid’ means post-acute covid-19 syndrome, where symptoms and/or long-term complications occur beyond four weeks from initial infection or symptom onset to include any post viral illness with a suspected or evidenced link to Covid-19.

You can see our entry in the Charity Commission’s Register here.

So in practice;

Who are we aiming to help?

We are aiming to help healthcare workers who developed post-acute covid-19 complications (Long Covid) during the course of their professional duties, whether or not they are still employed. More specifically this includes:
1. All NHS workers with Long Covid whether they were on a permanent contract or working as agency or bank staff as well as staff working for sub-contractors within the NHS.
2. Other healthcare workers including, but not limited to:
– Those employed in the third sector such as hospice staff
– Public health practitioners employed by local councils or public health bodies
– Healthcare professional students who developed Long Covid as a result of carrying out clinical
placements
– Healthcare workers from the private sector who were provide essential or emergency NHS work
– Other workers who could be reasonably considered to have Long Covid as a result of facilitating
healthcare to the public. Individuals will be considered on a case-by-case basis by SHH-UK.

How will we achieve this?

Supporting Healthcare Heroes UK will undertake a range of activities to ensure healthcare workers across the UK with Long Covid receive the best possible support. This may include:
1) Raising funds to provide financial support for healthcare workers with Long Covid.
2) Providing financial support for healthcare workers who developed Long Covid in relation to:
a) Additional costs stemming from the clinical condition of Long Covid, for example:
– travel costs for treatment
– adjustments to home
– disability aids
-recommended activities for health reasons
b) An inability to cover usual expenses due to drop in income as a result of LC, for example:
– going from full to half pay as a result of sick pay
– from half pay to nothing
– changed income because change of job
– early retirement
c) The costs of making adjustments from former employment to a new situation: for example costs
associated with:
– retraining
– counselling or coaching
– moving house to reduce outgoings
3) Working with our advocates and partner organisations to provide advice about how to achieve a
sustainable return to work – e.g. materials identifying best practice and webinars.
4) Ensuring other healthcare workers are aware of the support needs of staff with Long Covid so they can better support their colleagues returning to work.
5) Raising awareness of the need to keep healthcare workers safe from exposure to recurrent covid
infections and thus limit the numbers of staff developing Long Covid going forward.
6) Engaging with strategic decision makers and policy in relation to the support required by UK healthcare workers with Long Covid.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

One Response

  1. I have been terminated due to ill health and when Occupational health asked about ill health retirement the occ health doc said no he wouldn’t support it and my GP also said this so I’m at a lose now with no income and a family to support.

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