Thousands of asthma sufferers ‘at greater risk as they feel under pressure to go back to work’, charity warns

A third of asthmatics who have returned to work said they have been provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) that has made their symptoms worse.

This is while 61 per cent said they aren’t sure about the safety measures which have been put in place across the workplace.

Covid-19 is a disease that impacts the lungs and it’s because of this that all people with asthma have been placed in the clinically vulnerable group.

They have been placed in the group alongside people who are over 70, those with heart conditions and people who suffer from neurological conditions.

'Unacceptable'

Asthma UK surveyed 4,500 people with Asthma, 1,161 of which said they were now going back to work outside of their home.

Of those surveyed a shocking 76 percent said they were unable to implement social distancing in the workplace.

Asthma UK said this is “unacceptable”.

The survey also found that 20 per cent of those going back to work are sometimes in contact with people who have Covid-19.

This is due to their line of work, such as a hospital staff or care workers.

Despite the lockdown having been in place since March, a quarter of sufferers said they were not aware that clinically vulnerable people should stay at home.

They were also not aware that they should not be encouraged to go back to their workplace.

Currently guidance from the government states that employers in England should implement special procedures for the clinically vulnerable.

This means if they cannot work from home they should be offered the “safest available on-site role”.

Duty of care

This includes making sure that they are able to safely keep two metres apart from others.

Asthma UK has now called on employers to implement government guidelines and to show a duty of care to its employees.

Risk assessments, they say, needs to be carried out and staff need to be redeployed to safe areas.

Head of policy and external affairs at Asthma UK, Joe Farrington Douglas said people are feeling anxious about returning to work as lockdown restrictions ease.

“It is unacceptable that there are employers who are putting the health of their workers at risk, especially when their employee has told them that they are at a higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus.

“We have heard from thousands of workers including teachers, nurses and supermarket workers with asthma who feel anxious and pressurised to return to work or who are working in high risk jobs right now with no reasonable adjustments, leaving them vulnerable to getting seriously ill.”

He questioned where the duty of care was and said it was important for employers to remember that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic.

“The government has said that people in the clinically vulnerable category, which includes people with asthma are advised to stay home where possible and not encouraged to go into work.

“If that’s not an option, your employer must carefully risk assess whether there are safer on-site roles where you can safely stay 2 metres from others.”

The charity also highlighted a number of concerns people have raised due to going back to work.

Some said they had been concerned about what would happen if they refused to go back.

Others were also worried that their employers would not continue to pay them, while others were concerned about the low levels of PPE available.