Written question WQ87236
- Asked by
- Russell GeorgeConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 10 days
Question
Will the Minister confirm how many healthcare staff have been diagnosed with long COVID, and what steps are being taken to support them?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
The information requested is not held centrally as long COVID is not recorded within the Electronic Staff Record system.
People are experiencing a very wide range of challenges and symptoms as part of long COVID and some can be debilitating. The Welsh Government is determined to do all it can to continue to support people with long COVID and have provided £10m funding to date via the Adferiad Programme to support all Health Boards in Wales to develop integrated, multi-professional recovery and rehabilitation service models for all people with long COVID.
In June 2022, in recognition of the additional challenges facing NHS staff identified as having long COVID, specific guidance was issued in partnership to outline the expectations of all NHS organisations. We expect all employers to support staff on an individual basis in line with NHS Wales policies, underpinned by a compassionate approach to ensure that staff feel fully supported whilst managing their symptoms of long COVID.