The RCN has urged ministers to extend a scheme in England that provided financial support for families of healthcare staff who died of Covid-19 in the pandemic.
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In the letter, Pat Cullen, RCN chief executive, said nursing staff ‘deserve assurances that they and their loved ones will not go unnoticed should they contract and ultimately lose their life to Covid-19′, warning there is the ‘distinct possibility of new variants at any point’.
She continued: ‘The pandemic is far from over. Now is not the right time to remove the reassurance that if the worst were to happen to nursing staff delivering frontline care then their loved ones would be compensated…
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‘The over-riding principle must be that no member of nursing staff who loses their life this year should be afforded any less respect and family support than one who died in 2020 or 2021.’
The latest ONS data shows about one in every 13 people in the UK has coronavirus. NHS England data also shows there was a 60% increase in staff absences in the NHS in England for the two weeks ahead of Sunday 20 March 2022.
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This comes after NHS England said nurses in general practice can refer patients for free testing if a Covid diagnosis is required ‘to support clinical decisions’.
