Scottish ministers put long Covid burden on GPs, says MSP

The Scottish government is not doing enough to tackle long Covid and has placed the burden on GPs, a Conservative MSP has claimed.

Sandesh Gulhane, who is also a doctor in Glasgow, criticised Nicola Sturgeon for suggesting GPs could refer people with long-term symptoms.

Dr Gulhane said there was nowhere to refer patients to, and called for specialist long Covid clinics.

The Scottish government said it wanted to offer patients a range of services.

Dr Gulhane told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "The first minister said yesterday people with long Covid can come to their GPs and get referred. That is a really worrying statement.

"I don't want to give patients false expectations that they can come to their GP and we can send them somewhere - there is nowhere for us to send them to.

"We are already hugely under pressure and we need to ease that burden."

The issue of long Covid formed part of the Scottish government's argument for holding back the easing of restrictions.

On Tuesday the first minister said there was need for modifications in the move to level zero because young people who are not yet fully vaccinated run the risk of developing the condition.

Long Covid is not yet fully understood and can cover a range of symptoms - including fatigue, breathlessness, headaches and muscle pain - which are lasting long after the initial infection.

Since the summer of 2020 there have been calls for the Scottish government to follow NHS England and introduce specialist long Covid clinics because of the varied nature of symptoms.

The idea is that people can go to one place to be treated, rather than have to attend appointments in multiple different parts of a hospital, for example.

However the first minister has said that research is still ongoing, and long Covid services are continuing to be developed "as knowledge develops".

Meanwhile Covid recovery minister John Swinney told BBC Scotland he wanted to ensure a range of NHS services were available.

He said the "dilemma" with specialist clinics was that they may not meet the needs of patients because of the unique symptoms of long Covid.

Mr Swinney added: "What is important is that the individual who has long Covid gets the services they require and that will vary from patient to patient.

"What is important is that people are referred by their GP to the services that they judge those individuals to require.

"We want to ensure there is adequate capacity in the health service to deal with other conditions, so that we can make sure individuals with long Covid who need a range of different services are able to get access to that."

But Glasgow list MSP Dr Gulhane, who has set out his own proposals for such clinics, said his patients could not wait any longer.

"We need to do more", he added. "I've got patients who can't walk to the toilet.

"I don't think my patients and the people of Scotland can wait one to three years for the research to be delivered before we do anything. GPs are under a huge amount of pressure."