Long Covid: Two thirds referred to specialist clinics not yet seen

Patients must be referred to a clinic either by their GP or by a hospital consultant

Two thirds of people referred to Northern Ireland's specialist long Covid clinics have yet to receive a first appointment.

Long Covid is an umbrella term for a range of symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness and brain fog.

Of more than 1,900 people referred to the clinics, just over 600 have had an appointment.

The Department of Health said work to evaluate the current service was "being taken forward".

Funding is in place to run the clinics until September this year, the department said.

Londonderry father-of-five Neil McCafferty is among those waiting for an appointment.

"My hurt and the hurt of a lot of other people that have been waiting patiently for this is that we were given false hope," he told BBC Radio Foyle.

Medical staff told Neil McCafferty's family that he wouldn't make it through Covid-19

Northern Ireland's long-Covid clinics were launched in November 2021.

At the time, Health Minister Robin Swann said establishing the clinics had been a priority.

Department of Health figures show that as of the end of April, a total of 1,908 people had been referred to the long Covid clinics.

Of those referrals, 617 people had an appointment, with 172 people having been seen face-to face and the rest seen remotely.

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Mr McCafferty was admitted to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry in October 2020 with a gall bladder infection.

He was also treated for sepsis before developing Covid-19 and spent several weeks being treated in intensive care.

Mr McCafferty said he initially recovered well after leaving hospital.

But about six months into his recovery, his health began to deteriorate.

His mobility reduced, he had pains and fatigue and walking long distances became challenging.

Long Covid, he added, was "wearing him down".

"It becomes psychological after the physical impact. I am probably only about 20% of the man I was before Covid," he said.

'False hope'

He was referred by his GP to the specialist long Covid clinic in the Western Trust area, but has not yet been seen.

"We have been sold false hope," he said.

"It is a terrible thing to do to people who are suffering".

The Western Trust told BBC News NI that its post-Covid syndrome service had been running since March 2022, with the majority of patients referred by their GP.

A recent update on the service was "circulated to all GPs within the Western Trust area", a spokeswoman said.

"If a patient wishes to access the service they can speak to their GP."

Patients, she added, were assessed at three sites, the South West Acute Hospital, Omagh Hospital and Derry's Waterside Hospital.

Dr Alan Stout said GPs are seeing a significant number of people with long lasting symptoms

Dr Alan Stout, the deputy chairman of the British Medical Association, said he could understand the frustrations of those waiting to be seen.

"What is actually happening is these have become signposting services as opposed to services that are seeing a lot of people, dealing with them and taking ownership of them.

"A sign-posting service just makes people feel like they are being passed around the system, ending up on a different waiting list."

Dr Stout said within current provision, a patient was referred to a specialist service after an initial consultation.

That might include physiotherapy, occupational therapy or psychology services, he said.

"But really what we need is that all under one roof, that physical assessment of the patient," Dr Stout said.

The Department of Health said there were multidisciplinary post-Covid clinics in each of Northern Ireland's five health trust areas and were "supported by a lead GP or hospital doctor, occupational therapists, physio therapists and nurses".

"The service also includes access to healthcare assistants, diagnostic and administrative support," a DoH spokeswoman said.

Funding is currently in place, she said, to run the clinics until September.

She added: "Work is being taken forward regionally to evaluate the services currently provided with a view to securing funding for post Covid-19 services on a longer term basis".