NHS deletes referrals target for millions with long Covid

LONG Covid has been “deprioritised” by the NHS amid a bonfire of managerial targets, documents have revealed.

Targets for the coming year given by NHS England to trust managers do not refer to the syndrome at all and omit a previous aim to increase the number referred for treatment.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday showed 2.1 million Britons still have long Covid, 645,000 of whom first contracted coronavirus more than two years ago.

Long Covid support groups said the removal of the target was “unacceptable and unfair” and called on the Government to intervene.

“The news has come as a disappointment to everyone in our group,” said a spokesman for the Long Covid Foundation. “This is an unacceptable and unfair decision.”

Ondine Sherwood, co-founder of Long Covid SOS, said the decision would leave sufferers “abandoned”.

“People felt abandoned at the beginning of the pandemic and that feeling is still there, as it is so hard to get into the clinics and there is still no authorised treatment for long Covid,” she said. “The Government needs to push to fund research into treatment and encourage the NHS to take long Covid seriously.”

Fatigue is the most common symptom in those with the syndrome, followed by difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath and muscle ache.

No long Covid drug has been authorised

‘The Government needs to push to fund research into treatment and encourage NHS to take it seriously’

in Britain and treatments are limited to the alleviation of symptoms using rest and painkillers.

Also removed from the guidance was an objective to decrease the number of long Covid patients who wait longer than 15 weeks for treatment.

The targets were introduced last year as part of a £90million push to deal with long Covid, the guidance having previously only aimed to ensure patients accessed assessment services in a “timely and equitable” way.