The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Yousaf pressed on ‘long Covid’
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has been told to “stop side-stepping” long Covid as opposition MSPS called for a support service to be rolled out to help thousands of Scots.
The Scottish Government has been urged to adopt a digital service offering help which is currently only available to long Covid patients in Edinburgh and Midlothian.
Labour’s Jackie Baillie, Tory Sandesh Gulhane and Alex Colehamilton, of the Liberal Democrats, have said the service offered by the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) charity will ensure the 180,000 people with long Covid have access to adequate support.
The charity worked with NHS Lothian and Pogo Digital Healthcare to create a digital platform called My Tailored Talks, which brings primary care and third-sector services together for the first time.
It enables GPS to refer patients directly to tailored selfmanagement information and CHSS’S long Covid support services.
The system aims to improve patient care while limiting pressure on GPS, the charity said.
In a letter to Mr Yousaf, the opposition MSPS said: “It is simply not acceptable for so little support to be available, or for it to be so inconsistent across the country.
“We desperately need the Scottish Government to take
more action and provide the services that people have been asking for two years.
“We’re calling on the Scottish Government to support Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to roll out the long Covid pathway across Scotland to make sure everyone with this condition has access to practical and emotional support, no matter where they live.”