Hello everyone! We are still here, muddling on.
Currently, some of us are working with the RCN. Cass and Brenda are doing some work with the Scottish Healthcare Worker Coalition, who are core participants for the Scottish Covid Inquiry and the Keyworker Petition team have also submitted a response to Mark Griffin MSP’s SEIAC Bill.
Cass continues to work with the Long Covid Cross Party Group and recently did some more work with the SHWC to build on the work our petition did for our survey back in March.
We are all still having significant issues in our day to day lives, whether it’s the long waits for benefits or retirement decisions, legal issues, work issues and the ongoing problems with our health that Long Covid has left us with. Some of us are not entitled to many benefits or early retirement, because they were newly qualified. We are living our predictions and concerns: We did go to work and risk infection. We did catch a virus because protections weren’t adequate. We are living with the health and financial damage this virus has done to us and this shows no sign of ending.
We also would like to say that we are disappointed that the current Prime Minister still has not handed over evidence to the U.K. Covid Inquiry about any of his actions or role in the U.K. pandemic handling. All the victims, those who survived but are disabled, as well as the loved ones of those who died, deserve to know the full story. We deserve the truth. We deserve justice.
We were absolutely stunned and angry to hear what Boris Johnston thought of Long Covid and his actions when presented with the evidence. It represents huge disrespect to the whole Long Covid community, as well as the Keyworkers who had no option but to risk their health and, in some cases, lives, to keep the nation going during the lockdowns and wider pandemic period. The pandemic is also not over - it’s just the emergency period has been declared over.
If you wrote to your MP about your PIP experience ahead of last month’s debate - thank you.
We will keep you posted about everything we are doing. Thank you so much for your ongoing support - it means everything.
Key-workers deserve nothing less than compensation and a pension for everything we have lost.
Stay safe and well.