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News Article
Long Covid: What's changed, and what we know now
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than two million people in the UK say they have symptoms of Long Covid, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey. Many long Covid patients now report Omicron was their first infection. But almost three years into the pandemic there is still a struggle to be seen by specialist clinics, which are hampered by a lack of resources and research. So has the condition changed at all, and have treatments started to progress? NICE defines Llong Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, as symptoms during or after infection that continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis. An estimated 1.2m of those who answered the ONS survey reported at least one such symptom continuing for more than 12 weeks - health issues that they didn't think could be explained by anything else. It's easy to assume that new cases of long Covid have significantly decreased, given recent research suggesting the risk of developing long Covid from the Omicron variant is lower. However, the sheer scale of cases over the past year has resulted in more than a third of people with long Covid acquiring it during the Omicron wave, according to the ONS. Patients are usually referred to post-Covid assessment clinics after experiencing symptoms for 12 weeks - however, waiting times have not improved much within the past year. The latest NHS England figures show 33% of Londoners given an initial assessment had to wait 15 weeks or more from the time of their referral, compared to 39% from a similar period in 2021. The British Medical Association (BMA) has called on the government to increase funding for Long Covid clinics to deal with ever-increasing patient numbers. The BMA says that NHS England's 2022 strategy set out in July failed to announce any new funding. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 November 2022 -
Content Article
Long Covid by Geraint Jones
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Patient recovery
Geraint Jones, a healthcare worker at a hospital in Wales, shares his experiences of Long Covid. Geraint tested positive for COVID-19 in April 2020, whilst working on the COVID-positive wards in a district general hospital. This long-lasting illness is still little understood, but new research is uncovering some of the recurring symptoms that many patients experience and suggesting better options for treatment for adults and children. -
EventThis Westminster conference will discuss the future for Long Covid research, services, and care. It will be an opportunity to assess Long Covid: the NHS plan for improving Long Covid services and how its ambitions for improving access to services, patient experience and outcomes for patients can be achieved. Further sessions examine priorities for research and improving understanding of Long Covid, looking at implementing the latest developments in research to improve services, and the long-term health implications of Long Covid. There will also be discussion on addressing concerns around inequalities, capacity and wait times for Long Covid services, as well as the primary care referral system, and utilisation of investment. Sessions in the agenda include: latest developments: trends - key issues - assessing the NHS plan for improving long COVID services. clinical research: taking forward the understanding of Long Covid - advancing clinical trials - utilising data - funding and investment. improving patient outcomes, prediction and prevention - accelerating the development of effective treatments - areas for focus, such as cardiology. examining the increased risk of long-term health conditions and impacts of reinfection for Long Covid patients. improving specialist Long Covid services: progress made so far and priorities for moving forward. options for increasing capacity - addressing inequalities in provision, access to services and information - applying latest developments from research. children’s Long Covid services: assessing delivery - implications for child development and attainment. primary care: tackling key challenges for diagnosis and referral. the workforce: priorities for education and training - support for long COVID patients in the workforce. Register
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Content Article
APPG Coronavirus evidence session: Long Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Patient recovery
Recording of the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)Coronavirus evidence session on Long Covid. -
News Article
Long Covid: ‘fraction’ of patients getting NHS help in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Just a “fraction” of people with Long Covid is getting the help they need, with a third of them waiting more than three and a half months to be assessed after a GP referral, rising to almost half in some areas. More than 60,000 people in England had a first assessment for post-Covid syndrome in an NHS specialist service between July 2021 and August 2022. But the latest estimates released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that about 277,000 people with Long Covid in England report that the disease has limited their day-to-day activities “a lot”. These are the people that experts would expect to be referred for an assessment; however, the numbers who have been seen are far lower. Dr Helen Salisbury, a GP and columnist for the BMJ, said: “A fraction of the people who have got this problem are actually being seen” within the existing services. She said reasons could include patients not realising that the help is available to them; GPs not recognising Long Covid in those who do not self-label as having the condition; and a lack of knowledge of, and local access to, specialised clinics. While Salisbury conceded that there was no current cure for long Covid, she added that patients require treatment that involves symptom management, psychology and knowing they are not alone in their diagnosis. Ondine Sherwood, a co-founder of the advocacy charity Long Covid SOS, said many people with long Covid “are struggling to get any healthcare. Many are not getting any treatment at all.” She said public misconceptions around long Covid made it harder for sufferers to ask for and get help. “There was a lack of preparedness for the potential long-term morbidity which was not conveyed to healthcare professionals and this has contributed to the lack of care for long Covid.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 October 2022 -
Content ArticleHealthcare professionals share their experiences of Long Covid with the Guardian.
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Content ArticleDr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, has warned against prematurely declaring victory over the pandemic, not only due to short-term needs but because long Covid represents an “insidious” public health emergency for millions of people. In an interview with the Guardian, Fauci urged US Congress to avoid complacency and resume funding to combat the virus as well as Long Covid, a chronic and prolonged illness that continues to elude scientists and healthcare providers.
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Content ArticleLong Covid is now estimated to affect 2 million people in the UK, and almost 145 million globally. It’s a complicated diagnosis to receive and those affected have to cope with both the physical symptoms and the psychological strain of having an illness that is not yet well understood and does not have well-established treatments. Three Long Covid patients share with the Guardian on how they navigated this journey.
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Content ArticleThe impact of Long Covid needs urgent action – and there are five key elements to drive the effort forward, writes the WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in this article for the Guardian.
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News ArticleLong Covid clinics across Australia are being inundated with requests for assessments from patients struggling with ongoing symptoms, an inquiry has heard. Doctors told the federal parliamentary inquiry into long and repeated coronavirus infections that they were struggling to keep up with demand as waitlists increased. At least 10 million Australians have been infected with Covid and it is estimated 3-5% will develop Long Covid at some point. “Our waitlist is increasing because what we’ve observed is that it can take some time for the recognition of post-Covid conditions, particularly with the fatigue-predominant types, to reach us,” Royal Children’s hospital Associate Prof Shidan Tosif told the inquiry on Wednesday. Patients are usually referred to specialist clinics through a GP and while there is no official cure, symptoms can sometimes be treated on a case-by-case basis. The inquiry by the House of Representatives health committee is investigating the economic, social, educational and health impacts of long Covid and repeat infections. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 October 2022
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News Article
WHO chief urges immediate action to tackle ‘devastating’ Long Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Long Covid is “devastating” the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of people, and wreaking havoc on health systems and economies, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned as he urged countries to launch “immediate” and “sustained” efforts to tackle the “very serious” crisis. The world has never been in a better position to end the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is also “very clear” that many of those infected by the virus, which first emerged in China in late 2019, are still experiencing “prolonged suffering”, the WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said. With the absence of evidence about how best to treat it, Long Covid is turning people’s lives upside down, and many face “often lengthy” and “frustrating” waits for support or guidance, Tedros said. The large numbers of those cruelly affected by the long tail of Covid is also having a dangerous impact on health systems and economies still reeling from waves of infections. “While the pandemic has changed dramatically due to the introduction of many lifesaving tools, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, the impact of long Covid for all countries is very serious and needs immediate and sustained action equivalent to its scale,” Tedros said, writing for the Guardian. Countries must now “seriously ramp up” both research into the condition and access to care for those affected if they are to “minimise the suffering” of their populations and protect their health systems and workforces. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 October 2022 -
Content ArticleWorld Physiotherapy is the international voice for physiotherapy, representing more than 685,000 physiotherapists worldwide, through 125 member organisations. Recognising the lack of good quality evidence relating to Long Covid and physical activity, this briefing paper aims to support healthcare professionals to provide safe and effective Long Covid rehabilitation practice, research and policy. It recommends screening for post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PACS), cardiac impairment, exertional oxygen desaturation and autonomic dysfunction before exercise is recommended to people with symptoms of Long Covid.
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Content ArticleThis framework from NHS England supports nurses, midwives and care staff in ensuring care remains at a high standard, as well as demonstrating the contribution to the Long Covid response. It aims to give the opportunity to embrace collective leadership in supporting people and communities served and showcase good practice as it emerges across England.
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Content ArticleThis practice pointer in The BMJ provides an update on treating Long Covid in primary care and outlines how healthcare professionals might respond to questions that patients ask about the condition. The article provides information on: Definition of Long Covid Epidemiology Symptoms and case definition Questions patients ask Further resources for patients and healthcare professionals
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Content ArticleLong Covid is politically problematic, medically uncertain, and personally scary. It is too easy to look away. In media narratives this summer the Covid-19 pandemic was eclipsed by the cost of living and climate crises. But in practice these crises co-exist and interact. Long Covid makes heatwaves and price hikes a whole lot harder to bear. Jo Maybin was healthy, triple vaxed, and had been down with Long Covid since February 2022. In this blog for The King's Fund, Jo describes how she feels and asks you not to look away from Long Covid, this ‘mass disabling event’, which is affecting 2 million people in the UK, and will likely have a direct impact on hundreds of thousands more this winter.
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Content ArticleOn 25 March 2020, Hannah Davis was texting with two friends when she realized that she couldn’t understand one of their messages. In hindsight, that was the first sign that she had COVID-19. It was also her first experience with the phenomenon known as “brain fog,” and the moment when her old life contracted into her current one. She once worked in artificial intelligence and analysed complex systems without hesitation, but now “runs into a mental wall” when faced with tasks as simple as filling out forms. Her memory, once vivid, feels frayed and fleeting. Former mundanities—buying food, making meals, cleaning up—can be agonisingly difficult. For more than 900 days, while other long-COVID symptoms have waxed and waned, her brain fog has never really lifted.
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Content ArticleThis guideline developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) is intended for healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19. It is not meant to replace clinical judgment or specialist consultation, but rather to strengthen frontline clinical management and the public health response. Considerations for special and vulnerable populations, such as paediatric patients, older people and pregnant women, are highlighted throughout the text. This guideline is a product of the contributions of several WHO team members and independent experts from all over the world.
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Content ArticleThere are rising reports of profound cognitive impairment on par with clinical dementia as a result of Long Covid. By researchers’ best estimates, more than 1 in 8 people with Covid-19 will have some array of the 200 odd symptoms reported in this disease for months to years. Long Covid is quickly emerging as the next public health challenge. What are these land mines left behind by the SARS-CoV-2 virus? Are you at risk for them to explode even if you never get very sick from Covid? A study released earlier this month suggests that people suffering from long COVID end up with reservoirs of active SARS-CoV-2 virus — documented in our lungs, brain, and GI tract — which produce ongoing levels of viral spike protein in the blood. A year after becoming infected, patients’ levels can sometimes remain as high as were found during early infection.
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News Article
430,000 Britons have long Covid two years after infection, says ONS
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An estimated 430,000 Britons were still suffering from Long Covid two years after first contracting the virus, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). One in every 32 people in the UK was estimated to have some form of Long Covid at the end of July, equivalent to 2 million people. Of those, around 1.5 million said their symptoms were adversely affecting their daily activities, while 384,000 said their ability to undertake daily activities had been “limited a lot”. Fatigue continues to be the most common symptom reported by individuals with long Covid, with 62% reporting weakness or tiredness. More than a third, 37%, of those surveyed reported shortness of breath as one of their symptoms, while difficulty concentrating (33%) and muscle ache (31%) were the next most cited symptoms. Kelly Fearnley, a foundation doctor at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said: “Long Covid is not only crippling the health of the nation, it is destroying the health of our economy. “Research efforts so far have been slow and underfunded, and fail to reflect the scale and urgency of the problem. “Not only are some people not recovering, they are deteriorating. People have not only lost their health and independence, they are losing their jobs, financial security and homes.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 September 2022 -
Content Article
Infographic: Long Covid explained
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Good practice and useful resources
The science behind the symptoms of Long Covid are explained in this infographic from docdroid. -
Content ArticleThis article in the Nursing Times Long Covid series discusses how nurses are at high occupational risk of Long Covid and how best to support them.
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Content ArticleThe UK’s current strategy is outlined in its “Living with Covid-19” plan, which has three key pillars: vaccines, testing and treatment. In April 2022, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change undertook a critical analysis of this plan: what worked well, what didn’t, and what needed to change to manage Covid more effectively, and to protect society and the economy. The recommendations were incremental steps amounting to a responsible and proactive strategy. Unfortunately, as we see from the recent rapid rise in cases – most involving people who are being infected for the first time – as well as from the increasing hospitalisations and the rise in deaths, the strategy shows what living with Covid means in reality. To support the government, this paper sets out immediate and practical measures to safely guide the country through the latest Covid wave and to outline the longer-term shifts that will better prepare it for public-health emergency management in the future – including by restoring trust with the public.
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Content ArticleUK doctors have submitted an open letter to the BMA requesting their commitment to supporting and actively advocating for its members who are living with Long Covid.
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Content ArticleThis blog by doctors Clare Rayner and Amali Lokugamage argues that Long Covid rehabilitation needs a wider focus that goes beyond a purely biomedical paradigm to include complementary therapies and methods. The authors—who have both lived with Long Covid for more than two years—argue that although patients were the first to raise concerns about Long Covid, describe its symptoms and patterns and even research the condition, their narratives and voices are not being included in approaches to treatment. While the biomedical evidence surrounding Long Covid is currently limited, they highlight that there is much valuable lived-experience to be found in patient support and campaign groups, and that patients' knowledge should be drawn on to shape policy and guidance about the condition.
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News ArticlePatients with long-lasting symptoms from Covid will have access to more convenient tests and checks closer to home, under new NHS measures announced. Specialist clinics, dedicated to Long Covid, will now be able to send people for tests at local one stop shops and mobile clinics, rather than people going back to their GP practice for multiple different tests. Backed by an additional £90 million investment, the updated Long Covid plan includes ambitions for all patients to have an initial assessment within six weeks to ensure they are diagnosed and treated quickly. Latest estimates from the ONS show that around 1.6 million people in England are experiencing ongoing COVID symptoms lasting more than four weeks, with around one in five saying it has a significant impact on their daily life. The plan, which has been developed with expert insights from patients, clinicians and partners across the health and care system, shows the NHS has already made significant progress on delivering the 10 commitments it set out for Long Covid services just over one year ago. This includes establishing a nationwide network of 90 specialist long COVID clinics, 14 hubs for children and young people and investment in training and guidance to support GP teams in managing the condition. Dr Kiren Collison, GP and chair of the NHS long COVID taskforce said: “Long COVID can be devastating for those living with it, and while we continue to learn more about this new condition, it’s important people know they’re not alone, and that the NHS is here for them. “In just under two years, the NHS has invested £224m to support people experiencing long term effects from COVID – from setting up specialist clinics, hubs for children, and an online recovery platform, to providing training for GP teams. “Today’s plan builds on this world-leading care, to ensure support is there for everyone who needs it, and that patients requiring specialist support can access care in a timely and more convenient way.” Read full story Source: NHS England, 28 July 2022
