UK doctors with long Covid say they have been denied disability benefits

Doctors who worked on the frontline during the pandemic and have been left with long Covid say they have been denied financial support by the UK government, with some left with little option but to sell their house.

Months or even years after an initial Covid infection some people continue to have symptoms, from fatigue to brain fog. According to the Office for National Statistics, as of 1 May an estimated 2 million people in the UK reported having long Covid, as the condition is known.

Now healthcare staff in the UK have told the Guardian that despite being left with serious impairments as a result of long Covid, they have been turned down for personal independence payment (Pip), a non means-tested benefit helping people with the extra living costs of their chronic illness or disability.

One respiratory consultant revealed they had been refused Pip despite reporting to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that they had urinary incontinence, were unable to be on their feet for more than five to 10 minutes without a rest, and had difficulties preparing food, eating, washing, dressing or engaging with people face to face, among other problems.

Speaking anonymously, as their application is under mandatory reconsideration, the consultant said they contracted Covid while working on a coronavirus ward in November 2020 and first applied for Pip in June 2021 after developing long Covid, which has left them unable to work.

“I thought that I had illustrated quite clearly what my disability was,” they said. “When I got the report back, I thought ‘is this about me?’”

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Source: The Guardian, 13 June 2022