A group of Scottish academics are calling for urgent government funding for the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of people experiencing the long-term effects of covid-19 in Scotland.

They warn that available services are not universally available, with many long covid sufferers and healthcare professionals unaware of what is on offer.

According to the researchers from Stirling and Aberdeen, despite the Scottish government publishing a covid-19 recovery and rehabilitation framework back in August 2020, extra financial support to develop specific centres or strengthen existing care pathways is yet to be provided on a large scale.

An estimated 110,000 people in Scotland are thought to be suffering from long covid, around 1.9% of the population.

The lack of a funded national programme, they say, puts Scotland at odds with the rest of the UK, with the governments in Westminster, Wales and Northern Ireland having already pledged significant extra funding to create new or bolster existing services.

Nicola Sturgeon has previously said that research into long covid is still ongoing, and services are under development.

But the health research academics, Edward Duncan and Jenny Preston of the University of Stirling and Kay Cooper of Robert Gordon University, say the Scottish government should act now, even without definitive evidence of best practice.

In a blog post, they write: “In situations such as [the pandemic], it is best not to wait for the highest levels of evidence about “what works” before intervening.”

Research projects have been funded by £2.5m from the Scottish government and a further £19.6m awarded by the National Institute of Health research, including a study by the University of the West of Scotland on the applicability of ME treatments for extreme fatigue sufferers as a result of long covid.

A £760,000 joint funding package with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and the Scottish government has been described by the charity as a ‘vital first step’ towards a fully integrated, nationwide long covid support service.

However with recent research indicating that increasing covid-19 cases will likely result in a further growth in the numbers of people suffering from long-term effects of the virus, the blog authors say it is vital that extra funding is provided for these services before this foreseeable surge in demand overwhelms community rehabilitation services that were already under pressure prior to the pandemic.

The academics write: “Investment to scale up and publicise existing specialist and integrated long covid rehabilitation would enable people to receive much-needed help and support.

“While some Scottish covid-19 treatment pathways and dedicated services have been developed, they are not universally available. As a result, many health professionals and people with long covid appear unaware of what services are available.

“Researchers like us – working in close collaboration with health and social care services and people living with long covid – are well placed to evaluate these different forms of rehabilitation as they are made available, and we can develop and recommend how best to implement these services as they emerge.”

Whether specialist clinics or integration within existing services is more effective remains unclear; the academics and long covid sufferers are firm that research and practice must proceed in tandem to ensure Scotland’s post-viral pandemic is controlled.

 

Read More: Leanne’s story- living with long covid; ME support could be tailored to long covid patients; Clinical guideline crucial in treating long covid.

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