Rachel Hext

3 years ago today, I tested positive for an infection that has changed my life. I’m 36 and have been disabled for 3 years. I will have to take medication for the rest of my life. I have had pain every day for 3 years. I have learnt to parent with deafness, blurred vision, 1/3

The Covid Inquiry’s Module 3 report shows the NHS was pushed to the brink — but key workers with Long Covid are still left without answers.
We need accountability. We need action.
#LongCovid #KeyworkersDeserveBetter #CovidInquiry

@1goodtern @BBCHughPym

I feel a bit deflated this evening. The UK Covid Inquiry has concluded six years too late that covid is and always was airborne. I fought so hard in my local community to raise awareness and understanding of what airborne transmission meant. I was laughed at, ridiculed, attacked, but I was right. This is cold comfort, because nothing will change - because now they think *it's a good idea to catch everything*. Now they know things are airborne, they'll probably seal the doors and windows to make sure everyone catches everything. It's not the understanding of airborne transmission that's the problem, it's that people now think it's good to get sick. And their broken bodies are less able to fight off infection, so when they catch everything all the damage piles up. I hate this timeline.

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff My inquiry recommendations- 1. The decision makers to publicly apologise for getting it wrong & appropriate accountability for this 2. Compensation scheme set up & awarded 3. Long Covid clinics and research financed 4. Make Long Covid an occupational disease, not an injury

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff Many feeling like this @1goodtern, I remember clearly, standing in front of the Head of Infection control in my trust, asking if viruses don’t go around corners, pointing at the massive gaps in my FRSM. This highly educated individual told me I would be ok if I washed my hands…

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff It’s a pretty hideous picture. We were clapped, disabled, then sacked. Now they want us forgotten as it’s an inconvenient reminder of the incompetence from the very top down. The decision makers have blood on their hands and whilst the inquiry reveals this, it doesn’t act on it.

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff My requests were ignored. A few weeks later my colleague contracted it from a patient again and is also massively disabled by long covid. Ill health retired and pretty much housebound. Neither of us have ever have an apology or anything resembling care from our NHS employers

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff Once I contracted covid, I was so ill I thought I was going to die. I made my will, made arrangements for the guardianship of my two young children and from my sick bed contacted my trust CEO and union reps begging them to support my ward with PPE so they didn’t end up like me

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff Long covid clinics are closing down, research packages are ending, people are struggling to get support or to be awarded financial help or retirement. What a way to repay the service and sacrifice of those who were in harms way and risking themselves and their loved ones.

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff I have personally spoken to hundreds of healthcare professionals who have lost their careers and health to Covid. European countries have compensation schemes for their disabled frontline workers in the pandemic, but we don’t. Our once clapped heroes now have empty bank accounts

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff And the support from the NHS and the trade unions has been very poor. We are now an inconvenience that they want to forget. Staff have been thrown on the scrap heap and the pandemic is now ‘over’ according to them. WHO was the IPC cell accountable to? They ignored the evidence

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff Another nurse lost to the NHS, we were just cannon fodder in an invisible war. Totally disposable. The trade unions let us down badly, they should have fought harder for PPE and ventilation for us. There’s been winter flu planning for decades, they all knew PPE was needed

@1goodtern @OT_Skiff Here I am 6 years later, Ill health retired, lying in bed in pain, covid having been contracted on that very shift, my body is scarred, damaged and broken. Lost my career, my health and my identity, needlessly. PPE and ventilation, all known about for decades, would have saved me

Today's Covid Inquiry report recounts the pandemic’s truly devastating impact on doctors, and our patients.   Watch @thomasdolphin speak to press this afternoon

Any journalists covering Module 3 of the Covid Inquiry should really look at this. The sheer incompetence and arrogance of decision makers during one of the most horrendous times we’ve lived through, and they still aren’t acknowledging or following the evidence… @covidinquiryuk

However… and here’s the really scandalous part… What the Inquiry never knew was that the meeting minutes had been EDITED to remove mention of: 1. the consensus agreement for a more precautionary approach 2. references to FFP3 masks. The DRAFT minutes were never disclosed.

During the Inquiry, the Chair of the IPC Cell, Lisa Ritchie, was also asked to elaborate on the process by which the IPC Cell reached a consensus view. It was revealed that no formal votes were taken & it was ultimately up to the Chair (Ritchie) to decide the consensus position.

@jim_reed Finally, I’d just like to extend a HUGE thank you to CATA’s Exec team. Barry. David. Kamini. Kevin. They have devoted years of their lives to holding the govt & other agencies to account for the flawed Covid IPC guidance drawn up in 2020 - and still not corrected to this day.

@_CatintheHat @WorkingWithLC @jim_reed Awesome thread as always! It’s time this madness ended and they recognised how many of us are actually suffering

Here’s @jim_reed, the BBC’s health reporter, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Almost every expert out there thinks <Long COVID> is a very important factor in explaining why we’ve seen this rise over the past 4-5 years in people who are off work long-term sick”. /15

In honour of #LongCOVIDAwarenessDay, I’d like to present some important data from the latest GP-Patient survey. This is a HUGE survey with a sample size of ~700K people in England (5x bigger than ONS’s Covid survey). In this thread, I’ll walk you through some key findings… /1

Another focus is the role of the little-known Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Cell, which heavily influenced guidance on PPE and infection control. Evidence suggests expert advice contradicting the IPC Cell’s position was ignored or removed from records.