Northern Ireland could lose up to 700 hospital doctors as a result of the pandemic, it has been warned.
A leading doctor said the effects of long Covid and the trauma being endured by healthcare staff could see Northern Ireland lose up to 15% of its medical workforce.
Dr Tom Black, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Northern Ireland, was commenting after the chief medical officer said that 10% of people who contract Covid-19 go on to suffer long-term health problems.
“Covid isn’t a trivial disease, even for those people who do not end up in hospital, who do not end up requiring oxygen, who do not end up requiring intensive care, or sadly and tragically pass away from the virus, we know that 10% of people – even younger people – who have this disease have what is referred to as long Covid. This is a nasty virus and it causes a nasty disease and it is going to be with us for quite some considerable time.”
