Health and work update for clients as at 9 May 2022
UPDATE ON PROMOTING, PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING HEALTH IN WORK
1. The long term legacy of COVID-19 – Long COVID and mental health
The COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial effects on people, including on long term health through prolonged symptoms of COVID-19, which is termed Long COVID.
In their study published on 6th May1, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate that 1.8 million people living in private households in the UK (2.8% of the population) were experiencing self-reported long COVID (symptoms persisting for more than four weeks after the first suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) infection that were not explained by something else) as of 3 April 2022.
This include 21% of people with these self reported symptoms after being infected with COVID-19 less than 12 weeks beforehand. We consider Long COVID to be symptoms persisting for more than 12 weeks, and 1.3 million people (almost three quarters) were in this category. Among those with persistent symptoms, 44% were infected at least a year previously and 13% were infected at least two years previously. We have seen a number of such long term cases among those referred to us.
In this report, the ONS also comment that Long COVID symptoms adversely affected the day-to-day activities of two thirds of those with self-reported long COVID), with about a fifth reporting that their ability to undertake their day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”. Again, this has been our experience, and such people have struggled to return to work, or to work their usual hours.
Fatigue continued to be the most common symptom reported (half of those with self-reported long COVID), followed by shortness of breath (a third), and almost a quarter had difficulty concentrating.
Reporting symptoms of Long COVID was most common in people aged 35 to 49 years, women, people living in more deprived areas, those working in social care, teaching and education or health care, and those with previous health problems or disability.
For those we have seen, such cases are assessed on an individual basis, depending on the impact on them by the persistent symptoms they have, other factors such as previous health conditions, and the nature of their work. For many we have seen, returning to full time work has not been possible, and a few have left employment on health grounds. For some, ill health retirement has been recommended, but for the majority returning to work, with adjustments if appropriate, has been achieved.
Globally, mental health has been substantially impacted during the pandemic2. In these last few weeks, we have seen employees referred as they have been too anxious to return to work, and this has created difficulties for employment of those who need to be in their workplace at least part of the week. Publication of this month’s update coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week, from 9 to 15 May 2022. The theme this year is loneliness. ACAS provide a great deal of useful advice regarding employment and health, and to coincide with Mental Health Week have updated their guidance on mental health in work at: https://www.acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace
1 Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 6 May 2022 at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk5may2022
2 Mental Health and COVID-19, WHO at: https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/mental-health-and-covid-19
2. Keeping workplaces safe and productive
Infection rates continue to fall across most nations globally3, and the ONS survey dated 6 May 2022 reports that the percentage of people testing positive had continued to fall in the previous week4. Case rates and hospital admissions have decreased5; this provides confirmation that the pandemic is receding, rather than suggestion among those we speak to still anxious about COVID-19 of an artificial reduction in reported cases with free testing no longer being generally available for all. Rates of COVID-19 will probably rise again in the future, perhaps on a seasonal basis as we see with ‘flu’. The majority of cases now are with the Omicron BA.2 variant6.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) no longer considering COVID-19 to be potentially a work related disease, and no longer require employers to put in place COVID-19 control measures7. Infection with COVID-19 at work will not usually now be RIDDOR reportable. However, for those workplaces where exposure may be more likely, under COSHH8 employers must protect workers who come into contact
with COVID-19 directly through their work, for example those researching COVID-19 in laboratories, and health and social care workers caring for infected patients. COSHH will not apply if one employee catches COVID-19 from another, or where a member of the public catches COVID-19 through general transmission in the workplace.
3. Guidance for employers
Our Covid-19 Support Resources section will continue to be updated with resources for employers.
As always, we continue to advise employers on measures to prevent ill health in the workplace, and on health and work for individual employees on management referral.
Dr Robin Cordell
MBA FRCP FFOM
9 May 2022
3 WHO International COVID-19 Dashboard at: https://covid19.who.int/
4 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK: 6 May 2022 at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveyuk6may2022
5 National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2021 to 2022 season at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2021-to-2022-season
6 Variants: distribution of case data, 6 May 2022. Updated 6 May 2022 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-variants-genomically-confirmed-case-numbers/variants-distribution-of-case-data-6-may-2022
7 HSE guidance on COVID-19 for workplaces at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/index.htm
8 COSHH at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/index.htm