Long COVID: the pharmacy staff picking up the pieces months after being infected (12 August 2021)

Summary

The Pharmaceutical Journal speaks to formerly fit and well pharmacists and technicians whose lives have been devastated by Long Covid.

Content

The NHS has opened 81 long COVID assessment clinics across England and invested more than £50m in research to help improve understanding of the condition, from diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation and recovery. In Scotland and Wales, Long Covid is primarily being managed in primary care through GPs. However, access to help has been patchy.

Geraint Jones, advanced pharmacist specialising in HIV and homecare at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board in Wales, is frustrated by the lack of a clear pathway for managing Long Covid and has struggled to access services in Wales.

In Yorkshire, Rani Khatib — a consultant cardiology pharmacist at Leeds General Infirmary — is waiting for a clinic dedicated to long COVID to be set up in his local area. In the meantime, he has received physiotherapy support through the local pulmonary rehabilitation team, as well as a 12-week Covid-19 rehabilitation programme provided through the charity arm of Nuffield Health.

Karen Cook, a clinical services manager for a private hospital chain, has found support from others with Long Covid through Facebook groups, some of which have swelled to tens of thousands of members. She says other professional groups, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, have developed effective Long Covid support networks. She would like to see something similar for pharmacists.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is developing support alerts, blogs and professional guidance relating to Long COVID, and has a support line available for one-to-one discussion and support.