He said the number of nurses and midwives working in the health service is at its highest in more than a decade. Mr Martin said at the end of March there were almost 41,000 nurses and midwives working in the public system with 2,105 added in the last 12 months . Separately, the INMO said that frontline nurses and midwives experiencing long-term Covid-19 symptoms are not getting the medical or employment supports they need. The conference on Friday is set to hear from nurses who will describe persistent symptoms months after they contracted coronavirus. These include extreme exhaustion, brain fog, breathing difficulties, heart problems and vision impairment.