Coronavirus: Calls to protect workers expecting babies after ‘desperately sad’ death of pregnant nurse

The death of a heavily pregnant nurse from the coronavirus has sparked fresh calls to protect women working during the Covid-19 crisis who are expecting a baby.

Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, a 28-year-old nurse who had worked at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital for five years, died on Sunday after contracting Covid-19 – one of at least 45 NHS staff to have died from the disease.

However, her baby was saved after being delivered by emergency caesarean section. The newborn girl has been named after her mother.

Ms Agyapong’s death has sparked anger among pregnancy charities, who told The Independent that pregnant women risk dismissal or disciplinary action for merely stating their legal right to work in a safe environment.

Rosalind Bragg, director of Maternity Action, a national pregnancy charity, said: “It is desperately sad to lose a young woman to Covid-19 and distressing to leave a new baby without a mother. We don’t know if she contracted the virus at work but what this does show is the very real risk to pregnant women from coronavirus and the need to put in effective health-and-safety protections in all workplaces.

“On our advice lines, we are continually hearing from women faced with a choice between unpaid leave or badly paid sick leave or remaining in a job with unsafe working conditions. We are particularly concerned about women in public-facing roles and also risks for women having to take public transport to work and being forced to work in busy offices with lots of staff coming and going.

“Health and safety protections for pregnant women were very poor before coronavirus but this has brought into sharp relief how difficult it is for women to negotiate safe working environments. We desperately need government action in this area.”

Ms Agyapong, who had been working until 12 March, well into her third trimester, was on a general ward that has since been turned into a department to care for patients with Covid-19, Channel 4 News reported.

Staff have been anxious that they have been left vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus, with nurses frequently battling against shortages of protective equipment, including gowns, a source told the programme.

The hospital where Ms Agyapong worked and died told The Independent there were no Covid-19 patients on the ward she worked in before she took maternity leave, adding that it has not experienced significant PPE shortages.

The chief medical officer has said all pregnant women are in a vulnerable group, and the NHS states that women who are expecting babies could be at higher risk from the coronavirus and should only be leaving home for very limited reasons.

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Joeli Brearley, founder of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “The death of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong from Luton and Dunstable Hospital could have been prevented; a child will now grow up without her mother – this tragedy could have been prevented. Pregnant women should not be working on the front line. They are listed in the vulnerable category and must therefore be kept two metres away from others at all times or suspended on full pay.

“Unfortunately, we have heard numerous stories from managers who are putting pressure on pregnant women to continue working on the front line, and other unsafe environments, and this is wrong. This tragedy has happened because there has not been clear guidance from the start.

“The law is very clear: women of all gestations must not be working in environments where they will have close contact with others. If they cannot socially distance at work then they must be suspended on full pay. We are continuing to hear from hundreds of pregnant women who are still being forced to work in environments which are not safe. We have a hotline for those in need of further clarity – 0161 9305300.”

A recent poll conducted by the organisation found a third of pregnant NHS workers said they are still working and are anxious about their safety.

Ms Brearley said the campaign group had created a letter template for women who feel their working conditions are dangerous that has been downloaded more than 3,000 times in the past fortnight.

The comments come after The Independent reported that senior lawyers are warning pregnant women are at risk of being fired from their jobs if they follow the government’s social-distancing advice.

Employers may be breaking the law by making women expecting babies work in public-facing roles, which range from supermarket checkouts to busy office environments and health and care sectors where keeping away from other members of the public isn’t possible.

Lucy, who is 28 weeks pregnant and suffers from asthma, told The Independent she has been unable to work from home due to her employer not having spare laptops. The nurse, who works for a GP practice and whose named has been changed to protect her identity, said she had been allowed to transfer to an administrative role after she told her employers she was not comfortable working with patients.

She said: “I did admin upstairs, but there were still patients in the building and I was still having a lot of contact with staff having contact with patients. But I could not work from home because they didn’t have access to enough laptops. They insinuated they want me to do admin at work rather than at home. They asked me to obtain a sick note from my GP on grounds of anxiety if I want to work from home. It didn’t feel right. I’m not sick. This is to prevent me and my unborn child from becoming sick.

“They are putting me in an awkward position which could affect my future career due to having a long episode of sickness for something that is nothing to do with sickness. I’ve been having to fight with my employer to do something which is legally required from them. It has fuelled anxiety in a situation that is already bad enough.

“It has kept me up at night worrying if they are they going to force me to go in because [otherwise] I’m not going to get paid. I have been thinking about and worrying about it constantly.”

David Carter, chief executive of Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Mary worked here for five years and was a highly valued and loved member of our team, a fantastic nurse and a great example of what we stand for in this trust.

“She tested positive for Covid-19 after being tested on 5 April and was admitted to the hospital on the 7 April. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Mary’s family and friends at this sad time. We ask that the family’s privacy is respected at this time.”