Leicester-led research reveals long COVID’s lasting impact on healthcare workers

Major research has found that long COVID continues to affect a substantial proportion of healthcare workers, with serious consequences for their health, work and home lives, and NHS workforce overall.

The findings come from REACH-OUT: Caring for the Healthcare Workforce Post-COVID-19, a research program launched in 2022 through a partnership between the NHS Race and Health Observatory and UK-REACH and conducted in collaboration with the University of Leicester and University College London.

The final report was launched at an event in Westminster on 30 July 2026, where policymakers, researchers, healthcare workers, and people with lived experience discussed the findings and implications for the NHS workforce.

Researchers examined how common long COVID is among healthcare workers, its most frequently reported symptoms and impact on people’s physical, mental and occupational health.

They found that around one in four UK healthcare workers reported long COVID in a nationwide study. Globally, around 40 percent of healthcare workers included in multiple studies experienced long COVID at an average follow-up of 22 weeks, while 26.5 percent remained affected at 12 months.

Researchers have also looked at differences in factors by symptom groups in the UK - this has not been looked at among healthcare workers before.

Among healthcare workers with long COVID (26.5%), they reported higher prevalence of systemic, neurocognitive/neurologic and psychological symptoms compared with those without long COVID, with neurocognitive/neurologic symptoms (63.4%), systemic symptoms (54.6%) and cardiopulmonary symptoms (40.0%) the most commonly reported groups.

Distinct risk patterns emerged by ethnicity, sex and occupation: Asian healthcare workers had higher odds of cardiopulmonary symptoms compared to White counterparts, female healthcare workers were more likely to report gastrointestinal and neurocognitive/neurologic symptoms compared to males, and those in nursing, allied health and dental roles had higher odds of musculoskeletal symptoms compared to medics, while having two or three vaccine doses was associated with lower odds of several symptom groups compared to having no vaccination.

Around one in four UK healthcare workers reported long COVID, showing the scale of an issue that continues to affect both individuals and the wider NHS workforce. Long COVID can lead to prolonged sickness absence, reduced capacity at work and staff continuing to work while unwell. These findings underline the need for consistent workplace policies, greater clinical understanding and practical adjustments that help people remain in or return to work safely.”

Manish Pareek, Professor and Chair, Infectious Diseases, University of Leicester and Chief Investigator, UK-REACH programme

Healthcare workers described support from NHS organizations as inconsistent and insufficient. Interviews with healthcare workers, their families, colleagues and managers also highlighted unpredictable symptoms, stigma, limited clinical understanding and a need for better workplace adjustments.

Dr. Amani Al-Oraibi, who undertook the REACH-OUT work as part of her doctoral research at the University of Leicester, said: “Healthcare workers described living with unpredictable cycles of fatigue, relapse and brain fog, while also feeling pressure to keep going and concern that others might not understand the severity of their symptoms.

“Their experiences show why phased returns, redeployment and flexible working arrangements matter. Support needs to recognize both the health impact on individuals and the additional pressure placed on colleagues and services.”

Dr. Al-Oraibi presented the findings at the launch event alongside a panel of researchers, NHS leaders and people with lived experience of long COVID.

The program used a mixed-methods approach, including a systematic review and meta-analysis, a national survey of UK healthcare workers and qualitative interviews with healthcare workers, their families, colleagues and managers.

The findings will help inform policy recommendations aimed at improving support for healthcare workers and strengthening workforce recovery.

The study is available to view in full in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.