Wiltshire Long Covid patient says they have 'no support'

Ursula Wick was told to expect a full recovery within 12 to 18 months

A woman suffering from long Covid said she has been left with "no support".

Ursula Wick, from Swindon, struggles with tiredness, aches, pains and a loss of strength after contracting the virus and being hospitalised in 2021.

Christine Bott, who works at a long Covid rehab clinic in Wiltshire, said: "There is a feeling we should all be getting on with it."

The staff at the clinic are still seeing a lot of patients, despite the peak in referrals being two years ago.

People suffering with long Covid have reported symptoms including a persistent cough, chest pains and brain fog.

Ms Wick, who also suffers from fibromyalgia, said the combination of conditions makes it "quite difficult to figure out where one begins and the other ends".

When she was discharged from hospital after recovering, the consultants diagnosed her with long Covid and she was told to expect a full recovery within 12 to 18 months.

"They just waved me out the door, there was no help, no support, no advice - there was this is what you've got - on your way," she said.

Ms Wick said she runs her own business and it has also been impacted by her illness.

"I've had to seriously reduce a lot of things that I do, reduce the times that I open and I've just got to listen to my body.

"The business has suffered, but there's not a lot else I can do," she said.

What is long Covid?

Long Covid is a new condition which is still being studied.

The most common symptoms of long Covid are:

• extreme tiredness (fatigue)

• feeling short of breath

• loss of smell

• muscle aches

Source: NHS

Dr Ramajee Arora, a GP in Swindon, said people can confuse the symptoms of long Covid with other conditions they may be living with.

He said: "Long Covid is not necessarily a diagnosis of exclusion. That means it can exist with other conditions as well.

"If you have a history that matches and the patient has gone on to suffer for between six to 12 weeks, then we would be happy to refer them to the long Covid pathway."