A midwife who alleges she developed narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine as a frontline NHS employee claims she was unfairly dismissed by the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Rachael Curran, 38, an experienced midwife from Liverpool, will give evidence at an employment tribunal next week where she will also allege disability discrimination.

Lawyers Hodge Jones & Allen are representing Ms Curran and 84 other claimants in the UK who claim they developed narcolepsy, a rare, long-term brain disorder that causes a person to suddenly fall asleep at inappropriate times, after receiving the swine flu vaccine during the global pandemic in 2009.

Ms Curran will claim that despite being given the vaccine because of her role as a frontline NHS employee, her employer made few allowances for her subsequent disability, refusing to make appropriate reasonable adjustments for her and subjecting her to stress and harassment that exacerbated her condition.

The tribunal will open in Liverpool on Monday 23 November and is listed for five days.

Ms Curran’s lawyers says she agreed to be vaccinated against swine flu out of concern for her vulnerable patients. This followed recommendations from her NHS employer who, as part of a drive to encourage uptake of the vaccination, offered entry to a prize draw to win an iPad. But she had an immediate reaction to the vaccine.

By August 2010 she was regularly collapsing and being admitted to hospital. Doctors began the process that led to her diagnosis of narcolepsy which she now manages with medication.

The Countess of Chester Hospital

As she became increasingly unwell, Ms Curran’s representatives allege she was forced to take long term sick leave, attending numerous hospital appointments and undergoing treatments.

During this time she was subjected to the terms of her employer’s Absence Management Policy which, she claims, took no account of her disability.

Lawyers for Ms Curran say their client was ‘frequently asked when she would be returning to work, was pressured to attend disciplinary meetings whilst seriously unwell and made several unsuccessful attempts to return to work’.

Rhian Radia, an employment partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, said: “Rachael Curran believes that her disability was not taken seriously by management at the Countess of Chester Hospital and that she was made to feel like an inconvenience because of her illness. Ms Curran was a dedicated midwife who loved her job.

“She was committed to continuing to work at the hospital yet, despite recommendations from occupational health specialists, it is alleged that alternative midwifery positions or changes to her working patterns were not properly considered. Rachael will claim that the requirements to make reasonable adjustments under disability discrimination legislation was not complied with.”

The statement concluded: “The hospital has consistently refused to accept any involvement in causing Ms Curran’s disability and claims that she is not entitled to either the Temporary Injury Allowance or Permanent Injury Allowance usually given to NHS employees who have been injured during the course of their work.”

The Countess of Chester Hospital does not wish to comment at this stage.