Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy Naughten, and Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh, who have done a significant amount of work on this issue. Without doubt, long Covid is here to stay. It is a medical syndrome; there is no doubt about that. As the Minister of State observed, it is very difficult to see where the treatment regimes are going but we have to build a comprehensive service and put it in place to look after people who have been affected. Just as important is the need to prevent people contracting Covid and mitigate the effects of long Covid.

There has been a lot of anecdotal information in the healthcare space and the education sector, both of which have been heavily impacted. We know well that people were working in compromised environments at the start of Covid. In spite of the fact that all the evidence was there from the start, it took many months to recognise that Covid is an airborne disease. Deputy Verona Murphy has asked for a review. We need to go back and look at some of the actions that were taken in the context of Covid at the very early stage. An awful lot of tricks were missed. We were very late to bring in mitigating therapies. Antigen testing, which could have significantly helped to reduce the levels of Covid infection, was not brought in until nearly 18 months into the disease. These points were never handled.

There is now a cohort who are affected by long Covid. We do not know the exact number but it could be anywhere between 3% and 5% of those who contract Covid. That appears to be a figure that will keep recurring. A person can get Covid and recover, but then get it again subsequently and develop long Covid as a result. We need to look at this syndrome. I applaud the work of Dr. Lambert. He gave a briefing in the audiovisual room a number of weeks ago. What stood out prominently was the lack of support he is getting from the Department in trying to push the initiatives he has highlighted. The Government's position in that regard is very disappointing.

It is fair to say that long Covid is now largely centred around neurological syndromes and immune responses. That being the case, it falls into the same area as myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, fibromyalgia and other illnesses from which many people suffer. Not enough has been done for those patient cohorts either. I can think of a couple of patients with long Covid. A 52-year-old health worker in Waterford who was a marathon runner prior to getting Covid contracted the disease as a result of her work in the hospital. She was subsequently off work for nearly five months. She tried to go back to work but could barely climb the stairs. She has now taken early retirement. It is unfortunate that this has happened to her by dint of doing her job. On that point, as part of the motion we are asking the Government to recognise long Covid as an occupational illness requiring a comprehensive special leave with pay scheme for front-line healthcare workers as well as the expansion of services for other similar illnesses such as ME and chronic fatigue syndrome. This has already been recognised by the EU but it is up to each member state to ratify it. I ask the Minister of State to speak to his colleagues on this matter. This is a small cohort of patients and they need to be given supports by the State and to know that if they have long-term illness, they can claim long-term disability for Covid syndrome.

As the Minister of State outlined, long Covid is difficult to diagnose. It is based on symptoms. One cannot do a blood test for long Covid but one can certainly see the symptoms that result from it. The Government needs to develop a far greater strategic action plan. There are a number of Covid clinics in development across the country. The Minister of State highlighted that they are not fully staffed although we are trying to get there. We need to understand that every hospital in the country will need to have expertise in this area because there will be varying degrees of symptoms. Some people will require significant interaction with consultants while others will need less such interaction. There is a significant amount of work going on.

I highlight to the Minister of State a matter relating to vitamin D. Anecdotal research was carried out in Connolly hospital for the past two years - it was actually brought in to the health committee more than a year ago - showing the potential mitigating benefits of supplementing with vitamin D. A lot of work has been done and significant statistical research has shown that having a high level of vitamin D gives a person greater protection from the worst symptoms of Covid-19. That research was brought to the health committee. A report was generated. A public health piece in respect of supplementation with vitamin D could have been done and people could have been given access to vitamin D through financial supports but neither of those measures were taken and that is a great shame.

I join my colleagues in supporting the motion. We need to recognise the occupational injury that is being caused. More needs to be done to support patients and especially the caregivers who are trying to develop the multidisciplinary teams to deliver this.

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