Council to Support People with Long COVID

Thanks to a unanimously supported Liberal Democrat motion, Milton Keynes Council will consider exploring options for specific assistance for employees suffering with Long COVID.

Long COVID is where people who have had COVID continue to feel the effects of the virus weeks after initially becoming ill. According to NHS England, symptoms can include "breathlessness, chronic fatigue, "brain fog", anxiety and stress".

The Office for National Statistics found an estimated 1 in 5 people testing positive for COVID experienced symptoms for five weeks or longer, and 1 in 10 experienced symptoms for 12 weeks or longer.

The Liberal Democrat Group wanted to make sure that any Council employees suffering with Long COVID have adequate support from their employer.

The motion also asks the Leader and Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ask the government to regularly report on the number of people living with Long COVID, and to consider measures to support those living with Long COVID.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Andy Reilly, Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, moved the motion: "I am pleased the motion was passed, and that the Council agreed to our calls for support for employees experiencing Long COVID."

"This is a complex issue, and the Conservative government will have to look at assistance, not just local authorities."

"We are all hopeful that the vaccination programme will eventually see us emerge from the immediate COVID crisis, but we should not be complacent about the longer-term public health implications of long COVID. I am proud that we can start looking at this here and now in Milton Keynes Council, so that employees know that we care and will support them."

Councillor Leo Montague seconded the motion: "When political decisions are made, or events are dealt with, there are groups within society who sometimes get forgotten, or left behind. I hope this motion can serve as a timely reminder to all of us in Milton Keynes of the plight of those suffering from Long COVID, and ensure that those people, our fellow members of the Milton Keynes community, are not forgotten."