An NHS nurse with asthma has been awarded £6,202 in compensation after being forced to work on a Covid ward against her wishes. Carmel O’Boyle, who worked at a hospital in Prescot, Lancashire, informed her bosses about her respiratory condition and requested a transfer to a different ward. However, she was told to treat Covid patients and was subjected to discrimination and harassment. Ms O’Boyle felt “worthless” and acknowledged that she had put her own health and the health of her family at risk. Following a successful lawsuit, she has been granted compensation for disability discrimination and harassment.
Ms O’Boyle began working as a nurse for St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in March 2017, primarily on the orthopaedic ward. In March 2020, when the Covid outbreak began, she informed the hospital about her asthma but received no response. At this time, she had to separate from her mother and son, who also had respiratory issues, causing her significant distress.
As more staff members tested positive for Covid, the hospital faced difficulties managing patient influx and staff shortages. Consequently, the decision was made to convert the orthopaedic ward into a Covid ward for positive cases. Nurses were assigned to wards without having a say, and Ms O’Boyle wanted to avoid the virus ward due to concerns about her health. She showed her manager a text from her GP advising her to stay at home and avoid face-to-face contact for 12 weeks. However, instead of receiving a risk assessment, she was asked to sign a disclaimer stating that she would work despite needing to isolate.
In an email to her union representative, Ms O’Boyle expressed her worries about signing the document and being guilt-tripped into working. She also revealed feeling undervalued, worthless, and neglected as no risk assessment had been conducted and no redeployment options were offered. During a conversation with her manager, Lyndsay Hamlet, Ms O’Boyle was reminded about her smoking habit, seemingly to make her feel guilty and continue working on the ward.
Although Ms O’Boyle wanted to work, she was conflicted due to concerns about her health. She eventually resigned from her position eight days after the ward had become a Covid ward and left the hospital less than two months later. She now works as a nurse at a walk-in center in Liverpool.
In a statement, Ms O’Boyle expressed her gratitude for the support she received from the Royal College of Nursing union and encouraged others to speak up if they faced similar issues.
The judge presiding over the case awarded Ms O’Boyle £6,202 for the emotional distress she experienced. The Trust spokesperson acknowledged the completion of risk assessments for all staff during the pandemic but admitted to the mishandling of the staff member’s transfer to a low-risk area following the conversion of the ward.
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