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We are not aware of reports that any long COVID patients have been refused ill health retirement from a public service pension scheme in Scotland solely because they have not attended a long COVID clinic. Each ill health retirement application should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and the medical decision-making process takes into account the available treatment options for an individual.

In assessing an ill health retirement application, the scheme manager must assess whether the individual is permanently incapable of carrying out the duties of their existing employment (lower-tier) or any regular employment of like duration (upper-tier) until their normal pension age. One of the factors which must be considered in making that assessment is whether the individual has received appropriate medical treatment. Where the member has not received appropriate medical treatment, permanent incapacity cannot be established. However, if a long COVID service was not available, according to the general principles of an ill-health retirement assessment, it would not be considered an appropriate treatment option for that individual.