LONG COVID
recognise that despite my condition I am doing a good job and tell me to take it easy when I feel really bad. I would like to work from home when needed, although the laptop has been taken away as it was needed elsewhere. I don’t want to start asking as I do not want to be seen as a ‘problematic’ staff member.”
PAUL SAUNDERS “Be positive and work yourself to recovery” Inspector Paul Saunders from Wiltshire offers advice for fellow sufferers.
“On 26 January, 2021, I tested positive for Covid. I was asymptomatic and, barring a mild cold, I was fit and active. After a week, I could not walk up the stairs and for the next nine months I was in the grip of long Covid. “Initially I suffered from breathlessness
and an inability to do physical activity. But brain fog was my main symptom. It felt like my brain had been rewired and the connections were not being made. Words would go missing and I would stop in the middle of sentences. I would struggle to concentrate for more than 20 minutes on the simplest tasks. Computer work was overwhelming. For seven months I’d sleep every afternoon, or I would not be able to get through the day. There were times during this period when I would feel very low, thinking that I would never recover, and my career was pretty much over. “Inexplicably, in October 2021, one fine
I crawled back to bed and never really improved for months. “I had been training for a marathon before I caught Covid without any underlying medical issues. I was super slim. But I did not have the energy anymore to do anything. I bought microwave meals for the children and barely functioned. I really worried that this would be my life forever. “I had chronic fatigue, blinding headaches
“Talk to your GP, occupational health professionals, your line manager and, most
and, on some days, even lying down didn’t make me feel any better. Sleeping for hours didn’t make me feel better. Every day, I would be breathless with a feeling that someone was squeezing my heart tightly. “I have been left with tachycardia and postural tachycardia syndrome. My heart rate now is naturally elevated. One day last summer, my heart was at 140 bpm for 15 hours straight, which causes major stress on an already fatigued body. “Every month, I noticed very gradual improvements in my symptoms. I started going to the shop once a week, but needed help with the bags and would go to bed for up to six hours on returning home. “I returned
importantly, your family”
to work nine months later, as I didn’t want to quit under such circumstances, although I did consider retiring.
My bosses were very supportive and ensured I don’t overload my brain as the neurological aspect of long Covid cannot be overlooked.”
day I woke up in the morning and it had all gone. No pre-cursor to it. The fatigue had lifted, the brain fog had diminished, and I felt almost back to normal.”
WENDY BIRD “I’m recovering one step at a time” Wendy Bird from West Midlands is finally making progress. “I caught Covid in
Jan 2021 through work. It was similar to flu, but I struggled to resume work 10 days later. Four days later, I could barely function. Working online and not falling asleep at my desk was simply impossible. That day.
JAMIE ALLEN “The thought of getting covid still scares me” “In November 2020, when Covid and our knowledge of it was in its infancy, I contracted it. My symptoms started with severe fatigue, which made me feel like a dead man walking, and then the cough, which was so bad I coughed myself unconscious more than once. From day 12 or 13 I turned a corner and my condition started improving, but for weeks after I continued feeling very breathless and fatigued. “Since December 2020, I have been
trying to get fit, again but have constant bouts of breathlessness and fatigue. I experience chest and body pain, making it uncomfortable to wear a body armour. I kept going until March 2022, when I had a mild panic attack, and it became unbearable. The thought of contracting Covid still scared me. That’s when I consulted my doctor, who has
Mark Andrews, PFEW Health and Safety Lead, writes: A lack of clear med- ical testing – and the fact long Covid isn’t fully understood – has a negative impact on officers who are suffering. In the absence of a defined diagnosis, officers have reported hardships and discrimination at work. We need to work together to remove this stigma. Many forces are doing the right thing when it comes to supporting their officers, but, disappointingly, some branches have raised issues that show officers are being let down. PFEW is pushing for forces to recog- nise that those suffering may require support with long Covid for different periods of time. We will ensure forces know how crucial long-term require- ments are for officers with long Covid, which is why we are encouraging forces to recognise officers with long Covid as disabled workers entitled to all the rights and protections that the Equality Act 2010 provides.
11 | POLICE | OCTOBER 2022
been brilliant, and diagnosed that I had injured my respiratory system caused by inadequate rest and anxiety. “I was off work for over 12 weeks and realised it was due to Covid. I am now on medication and improving rapidly, mentally and physically. However, during this period, my son and wife contracted Covid, which worried me more. I tested every day, dreading the worst, but I have had all my vaccinations, so managed to keep the virus at bay. They have since sailed through. “The past two and a half years have been very hard, and I can only now see a light at the end of the tunnel. I shouldn’t have tried so long to work through it but I did. I cannot thank enough my management since my illness was identified.”
LONG COVID MUST BE RECOGNISED AS A DISABILITY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
