NHS services for the 2 million Britons who have long struggled with Covid are “terribly inadequate” given how many people have been diagnosed with the condition, nursing leaders have warned.
There are too few specialized clinics to cope with the growing demand for treatment, with only a small number of sufferers receiving any help, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said.
The National Bureau of Statistics estimated last week that the number of people in the UK suffering from persistent Covid symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches and breathing problems has doubled in one year from 1 million in May 2021 to 2 million last year. month.
The National Health Service has responded to the growing number of long-term patients with Covid by setting up clinics to evaluate, diagnose and treat them and refer them to other services, such as cardiology departments for people with heart problems.
But RCN claims that “existing services are extremely inadequate to meet the level of demand.” Warning of a “zip code lottery for access to care”, he also expressed concern that “diagnosis and treatment differ significantly in the UK, with Covid being treated as a physical condition in some clinics for a long time, but mainly as a psychological condition in others. “.
While England already had 89 long Covid clinics by last July, Northern Ireland has only one, and Wales and Scotland have yet to set up their first.
“With more than 2 million sufferers, there are not enough specialized services to meet the growing demand, and the help patients receive varies greatly across the country,” said Helen Donovan, RCN’s professional public health manager.
“Of the 2 million people who self-report for a long time for Covid, only a small number are aware of or have access to available treatment. In April, only a small number of sufferers, 4,500, were awaiting evaluation at a long Covid clinic in England.
Nurses need to be much more involved in caring for long-term patients with Covid, given their experience in managing long-term conditions such as cancer and diabetes, Donovan added. Clinics are usually run by respiratory doctors, assisted by physiotherapists and sometimes occupational therapists and psychologists, she said.
Leila Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the Coronavirus parliamentary group, said: “Some 2 million people in the UK live with long-term covid , the economy and our public services. ”
The Guardian turned to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for an answer.
Meanwhile, about half of people with long-term Covid may be affected by sleep disorders, the data show.
Cinthya Pena Orbea of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, analyzed data from 962 patients attending the center’s ReCOVer clinic, which provides care for people with chronic or new symptoms of Covid for at least 28 days after diagnosis, between February 2021 and April 2022, these individuals, 8% reported severe sleep disorders, while 41% reported moderate sleep disorders.
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People with a higher body mass index (BMI) and anxiety are more likely to be affected, while black patients are three times more likely to experience moderate to severe sleep disorders, even after adjusting demographics. The findings were presented at the Sleep 2022 meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A separate study published in Brain Science in April found that 51% of those who presented to the Long Covid Clinic in Texas reported sleep disturbances and that poor sleep quality was associated with increased depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
No study has been able to determine whether anxiety has contributed to people’s sleep problems, or vice versa – or if other symptoms, such as pain, are the source of their sleep problems. “Future work should follow patients to see if the symptoms of sleep, fatigue and mental health spontaneously disappear over time,” said Sarah Novakowski of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who is leading the Texas-based study.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Long Covid is a new challenge for health systems around the world and the UK is a leader in research, treatment and care.
They added: “We are supporting our world’s leading scientists with over £ 50 million to better understand the long-term disabling effects of Covid, and the NHS has committed £ 224 million to support people with persistent Covid symptoms, with over 90 specialists. clinics across the country. England. ”
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