Group urges action over long Covid

A campaign group has urged the Scottish Government to take more action in helping people who are living with the long-term effects of coronavirus.

Long Covid sufferers are the focus of a new report from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which suggests there is an urgent need to better understand the Covid-19 symptom journey and underlying clinical risks after having the virus.

T hose living with long Cov id can experience breathing problems, anxiety, numbness or fatigue.

One long Covid sufferer, Les ley Macniven, co-founded the Long Covid Action Group Scotland, which is now asking Holyrood to bring the NHS and the voluntary sector together to provide a national support service.

She said: “There’s not one c lear set of symptoms – people start to think they’re getting better and then they have a major setback.

“It’s really hard and as time goes on it’s harder to keep fighting back and be resilient.

“People are concerned they’re never going to get their jobs back or even their lives back again – it’s horrible.”

She added: “It’s really difficult to get out of bed every day feeling like that.”

The NIHR report also suggests a lack of consensus on diagnostic criteria for ongoing Covid-19 is harming efforts, with more consensus needed between healthcare services, employers and government agencies.

Individuals will also face psychological and social impacts if the consequences are not managed, it adds, with support in the community to be considered with “hospital one-stop clinics”.