Charity wants more help for long covid sufferers
A charity is pushing for action which could help sufferers of long covid in Renfrewshire.
Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland, the largest charity caring for people with the condition, is reissuing a call to the Scottish Government to take urgent action as numbers experiencing long-term effects from long covid continue to rise.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows steady monthly increases in sufferers - with 64,000 Scots now living with the condition for more than 12 months.
The figure is more than double the number - 29,000 - affected in November 2021.
Some 24 per cent of people living with long covid in Scotland say their daily lives have been‘affected a lot’– compared with the UK average of 19 per cent.
Renfrewshire was badly hit by covid infections, including a spike in cases prompted by the new Omicron BA.2 subvariant.
Now charity bosses have called on the Scottish Government to help.
Jane-Claire Judson, chief executive at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said:“The number of people living with the long term effects of long covid is increasing at an alarming rate.
“Every month more and more people are needing support and progress to meet their needs for care just isn’t fast enough.
“They deserve better and we need to see more urgent action from the Scottish Government.
“People might feel we are getting back to some kind of normality, but so many people with long covid feel there is no return to normality in sight.
“Many are struggling to return to their jobs or do the things many of us take for granted like going for a walk to the end of the road.”
She added:“We need to see the £10million Scottish Government funding announced in September translate into real changes to care and education.
“People are still telling us that they struggle to receive a diagnosis, get the tests they need and access to support is not consistent.
“We need to see urgent action to make sure a wraparound service is in place.
“That service also needs a system where people can be easily referred through to third sector services to ensure we’re reaching everyone with long covid who needs support.”
The charity has been campaigning over the last 12 months to see better collaboration between charity agencies and the NHS to allow them to help more sufferers.