‘Patients could require long-term treatment’
THOUSANDS of coronavirus patients could be facing long-term effects from the illness, physiotherapists have warned.
Research from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) suggests tens of thousands of Covid-19 patients who were taken to hospital may need ongoing rehabilitation for symptoms such as breathlessness and fatigue.
The CSP said analysis of figures from across Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland indicates that of 48,448 survivors who were taken to hospital in the UK with Covid-19 up until May 21, 29,845 are likely to require some level of rehabilitation on discharge.
An infectious disease specialist has said “we don’t know yet” what will happen to those who survive the illness but said some are experiencing lingering symptoms.
Professor David Heymann told a Chatham House briefing: “We don’t know yet, because we’re still early in this infection, what may happen in those survivors from this infection.
“But it appears that some have had continued reactions in the lungs, that are continuing to keep them short of breath, and hopefully these will resolve but we just don’t know yet whether they will.”
Pointing to the Sars outbreak in 2003 he said some people suffered “severe lung damage” and “have not been able to regain their full respiratory capacity”.
Lucy Bailey, 32, is still suffering after first experiencing coronavirus symptoms on April 27.
She is still dealing with chest pain, pins and needles, shortness of breath and headaches, among other issues, almost two months since she first became ill.
She has never had a test for the illness and has therefore never had a positive diagnosis confirmed, but told the PA news agency that paramedics and an on-call doctor said her condition “was most likely Covid” after contact with NHS 111.
She said: “I am slowly recovering and I am able to do much more than I was.
“But it will be two months on Saturday since symptoms started and I still can’t work, exercise, do housework or read a book.”
She added: “I used to do park runs, and was really active and sociable before lockdown started.
“I’ve never been ill for more than a week before!”
Ms Bailey has joined online support groups for people who have been struck down by the illness and is trying to raise awareness of the long-term impacts of the illness.
The health charity worker said: “The public deserve to be properly informed of the risk to their health.
“Many people in the support group, myself included, are young, previously healthy, very active individuals.
“Many of us have never had a serious illness before. We weren’t vulnerable and we weren’t told to shield.
“It has been very frustrating.” The CSP is now calling on the Government to put measures in place to help those who will need, and who provide, rehabilitation care.
Their requests include a national strategy for rehabilitation and expanding services to greater meet the need of Covid and non-Covid patients.
The CSP’s chief executive, Professor Karen Middleton, said: “We know patients are much more likely to make a full recovery if rehabilitation begins in hospital and continues seamlessly at home.
“It is tragic to think that thousands of people have fought off Covid-19 only to find themselves struggling with multiple conditions due to a lack of aftercare.”
A spokeswoman for the NHS said: “Clinicians continue to learn on a daily basis about the short, medium and long term effects Covid-19 has on people and at the same time as keeping hospitals ready for any future increases in cases, the next phase of the NHS response means expanding and strengthening community health and care services in new ways, including through the new Seacole centres.”