Long Covid services for NI sufferers delayed until November

Plans for dedicated services to help long Covid patients in Northern Ireland have been delayed, BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra has learned.

The Department of Health intended to have assessment and treatment services available in all health trust areas by the end of October.

The support includes one-stop-shop assessment clinics and post-critical care recovery services.

Officials said the services would be in place at the end of November.

The Health and Social Care Board says "significant progress has been made in the establishment of services to support post-Covid-19 patients".

The Department of Health said £1m in funding had been made available for establishing the services in 2021/2.

"Until the service is established, patients displaying long Covid symptoms will continue to be treated via existing services in both primary and secondary care," the department added.

"These services include existing ICU follow-up clinics, respiratory rehabilitation and mental health services."

Long Covid clinics were opened across England in November 2020.

Lizzie Burr, from Warwick, has been receiving help since developing long Covid in April 2020.

She told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra it was "upsetting" the services were not yet available in Northern Ireland.

"It's absolutely dreadful that these people are not getting help," she said.

"The Northern Ireland government should be ashamed of themselves because these people are unwell and the longer they leave it, the worse they are going to get."

An estimated 20,000 people in Northern Ireland have some form of long Covid.

In the UK, long Covid is broadly defined as a condition that develops during or after the initial Covid-19 infection; continues for more than 12 weeks; and its symptoms cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis.

More than 200 symptoms have been linked to the illness but some of the main symptoms are extreme fatigue, breathlessness, brain fog (neurological and memory loss), heart problems and severe headaches.

It is estimated about £2.5m a year will be needed for long Covid support in Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month, the Department of Health said there were difficulties collecting data on long Covid because of a changing picture in which some people recover but others become ill.

Information is being gathered but it will be a number of months before there is enough to analyse, the department said.