‘SEVERE DIZZINESS HAS LANDED ME IN A&E TWICE’

Paul Power, 52, Merseyside

When I contracted Covid in late March, a week spent in bed with flu-like symptoms made me think I was one of the lucky ones.

I started to feel better, and was keen to return to my energetic life as a police firearms officer, where I regularly have to undergo fitness tests. But when I tried to re-embrace my jogging routine, I became immensely tired. I left it a few more weeks, and this time tried cycling. Again, I struggled to complete a short journey, hampered by a painful tightness in my chest.

Over the last few months, an unpleasant and frightening pattern has emerged. My breath becomes short at the slightest exertion; my joints are sore from arthritis. I suffer disorienting bouts of severe dizziness, which have landed me in A&E twice so far. My blood oxygen levels drop when I carry out a mundane task, like putting out my washing. Worst of all, I’ve been unable to return to work: it’s difficult to write emails, and in conversation I find myself repeating the same sentence twice.

For three months I was unable to see an NHS GP face-toface, and when I eventually secured an appointment he suggested the symptoms were psychological.

I paid for a private GP, who diagnosed me as “clinically post-covid”. I was prescribed steroids for my chest, which helped, but I still have to wait months for specialist heart and lung appointments.

The Government talks about postCovid clinics, but there still seems to be no NHS provision. I hope that soon I can return to the active life I once loved.