Huge fall in NHS Long Covid clinics, study finds

The number of NHS clinics for people living with Long Covid has more than halved, a charity finds

New research has revealed the number of NHS clinics for people living with Long Covid has more than halved, from a peak of 120 services in 2022 to 46 today.

Services for children and young people are also affected with 13 specialists hubs reduced to eight.

The BBC also discovered the NHS in England no longer monitored the status of Long Covid clinics and stopped doing so nearly a year ago.

Spokespeople for NHS England and the Department of Health confirmed they were no longer tracking how many Long Covid clinics were still operating.

Birmingham-based charity Long Covid Support used Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to ask hospitals about what clinics they have for patients.

Margaret O'Hara, from the group, said changes in the way clinics were funded inside the NHS had led to many services being merged or stopped altogether.

She told the BBC many parts of the NHS were "struggling to cope" and the picture for patients was one of "utter confusion".

Long Covid is a term that describes a wide range of symptoms.

After the initial infection with coronavirus, rather than getting better, patients are instead left dealing with any number of problems including fatigue, pain and breathing difficulties.

For many, getting any sort of diagnosis let alone treatment in a specialist NHS clinic is a long and sometimes fruitless journey, according to the support group.

Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests two million people nationally have Long Covid.

James Gill, from Warwick Medical School, said dealing with Long Covid for many patients was like "walking around wearing a weighted blanket"

In the West Midlands, services can vary dramatically - from an NHS clinic in Birmingham, where the focus is on treatment, to one in Staffordshire where the idea is to help people manage their symptoms.

Meanwhile in some places, such as Dudley, the Long Covid service was axed completely.

In a survey of patients affected by the condition, a spokesperson for Long Covid Support said they found about half of those they talked to considered themselves disabled by the condition.

A similar number of adults surveyed also said they were not followed up by a healthcare professional and still had ongoing symptoms, despite when the NHS discharged them from treatment.

The charity's spokesperson said the decline in these services needed to be reversed for adults, children and young people.

James Gill, an associate professor of clinical studies at Warwick Medical School, said dealing with Long Covid for many patients was like "walking around wearing a weighted blanket. Try having a life like that".

Lack of Long Covid spending data

In response to an FoI, NHS England confirmed, as of April 2024, 109 services were open, including 99 for adults with the other 10 for children and young people

But a spokesperson said they stopped checking on the closure of clinics 11 months ago, when responsibility was given to regional NHS groups.

NHS England also declined to give any details about how public money was spent on Long Covid services.

The government told Parliament in 2024: "NHS England has invested £314m to expand Long Covid treatment in the NHS and rehabilitation services."

But when asked by BBC News to provide a spending breakdown, the NHS England spokesperson said that while it was spent "directly on Long Covid services", they did not hold any further information.

In response to a separate FoI request, the Department of Health spokesperson also said they held no information on where clinics have closed or how the money had been spent.