Frontline nurses and midwives will be debating a motion tomorrow to extend sick leave for workers suffering from “long Covid”.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) annual delegate conference has warned that these frontline workers experiencing long-term Covid-19 symptoms are not getting the medical or employment supports needed.

“Long Covid” is when people continue to experience severe symptoms of the virus months after first getting infected. Symptoms include extreme exhaustion, brain fog and difficulty breathing. They can also have heart problems or impaired vision.

The INMO’s conference will hear from nurses suffering these symptoms.

It will debate two motions relating to long Covid on Friday, with one saying: “We call on conference to endorse the pursuit of a specialised scheme for extended sick leave for members who suffer from Covid and post Covid illnesses following confirmed diagnosis noting that it is unclear of the long term health implications for healthcare workers infected by the disease.

“In addition, be it resolved that priority pathways be established for nurses and midwives who become ill due to their work.”

The union said they’re calling for Government and employer measures - including tailored medical supports, research into long Covid impacts, a guarantee that healthcare workers with long Covid won’t face income cuts, and flexible rehabilitation back into work.

INMO president and nurse Karen McGowan added that long Covid is a condition that takes so much out of people and “they’re simply not being treated fairly”.

“We are all looking forward to a time after this pandemic – but we cannot forget those who took great risks to provide care and are being left in the lurch,” she said.

“The very least they deserve is long-term certainty about their employment and income rights, and a guarantee of medical care.”

More than 7,500 nurses and midwives have contracted Covid-19 in Ireland, which represents over a quarter of all Covid-19 cases among healthcare workers.

Discussing the issue of long Covid further, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that the virus can be a long-term, debilitating illness.

“People need to know where they stand, medically and in terms of work,” she said.

“The HSE need to lead the charge on this and implement the measures that our members are calling for. This is a condition people are acquiring at work, and their workplaces need to step up and give them the support they need.”