Tens of thousands of people who are suffering long-term
effects of coronavirus will benefit from a revolutionary
on-demand recovery service, the head of the NHS has announced
today.
Nurses and physiotherapists will be on hand to
reply to patients’ needs either online or over the phone as part
of the service.
The new ‘Your Covid Recovery’ service forms
part of NHS plans to expand access to Covid-19 rehabilitation
treatments for those who have survived the virus but still have
problems with breathing, mental health problems or other
complications.
Coming on the day of the NHS’s anniversary,
chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has hailed the new service as a
great example of the way the health service is increasingly
harnessing technology and innovation to enhance the face to face
care that doctors, nurses, therapists and other staff can provide
in a safe and convenient way.
It follows the building of a new Seacole
rehabilitation centre to help those most seriously affected by
the deadly virus, with similar facilities expected to open across
the country.
Patients who have been in hospital or suffered
at home with the virus will have access to a face-to-face
consultation with their local rehabilitation team, usually
comprising of physiotherapists, nurses and mental health
specialists.
Following this initial assessment, those who
need it will be offered a personalised package of online-based
aftercare lasting up to 12 weeks, available later this
Summer.
Accessible, on-demand, from the comfort of
their own home, this will include:
-
Access to a local clinical team including nurses and
physiotherapists who can respond either online or over the
phone to any enquiries from patients;
-
An online peer-support community for survivors –
particularly helpful for those who may be recovering at home
alone;
-
Exercise tutorials that people can do from home to help
them regain muscle strength and lung function in particular,
and;
-
Mental health support, which may include a psychologist
within the online hub or referral into NHS mental health
services along with information on what to expect
post-Covid.
Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive said: “Covid-19 has
been the biggest challenge in the NHS’s history, and the fact
that we have come through the first peak without services being
overwhelmed and being able to give expert care to everyone who
needed it, is testament all our frontline and support staff.
“Now, as we celebrate the birthday of the NHS and look ahead to
the next phase of our response, while in-person care will
continue to be vital, the health service is embracing the best
that new technology can offer us to meet the significant level of
new and ongoing need.
“Rolling out Your Covid Recovery, alongside expanding and
strengthening community health and care services, is another
example of how the NHS must bring the old and the new together to
create better and more convenient services for patients.”
NHS staff responded rapidly to the Covid-19 outbreak to care for
more than 100,000 patients in hospital, and many more in the
community.
Thanks to their efforts everyone who could benefit from care was
able to get it, and the overwhelming majority survived.
However, evidence shows that many of those survivors are likely
to have significant on-going health problems, including breathing
difficulties, enduring tiredness, reduced muscle function,
impaired ability to perform vital everyday tasks and mental
health problems such as PTSD, anxiety and depression.
The online portal will help ensure that people get the support
they need to recover from the effects of the virus, including
those associated with spending a long time on ventilation, while
reducing the need to physically attend appointments for
many.
The first phase of the service will launch later this month,
providing the latest advice on recovering from the virus, which
will be available to all and continually improved and added
to.
The second phase, in which people who need it will be able to
access personalised support packages, is in development by
experts based in Leicester and will be made available later in
the summer.
In order to access this part of the site, patients will first
attend a face-to-face assessment, which may include a
walking test, to help personalise care and ensure people get
the type of support and rehabilitation specific to their need,
rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
For those who need ongoing care, they will be given a log-in to
the new online site, which will be accessible from any
web-enabled phone, tablet, television or computer.
Where patients don’t already have access to a suitable device to
use the online platform, printed materials will be made depending
upon demand to ensure the service is accessible to all.
Rehabilitation professionals will be able to access their
patient’s data to enable remote care and monitoring, ensuring
that anyone who might need further face-to-face checks or
treatment can get it.
Professor Sally Singh with a team from University Hospitals of
Leicester NHS has been working with national clinical leaders to
build the service and is now working with the NHS nationally to
roll it out across the country.
Professor Singh from the University of Leicester
said: “We know the impact of Covid on people
can be far reaching and complex, ‘Your Covid Recovery’ is
specifically designed to support people in their recovery
post-coronavirus, this will be one of the first sites in the
world rolled out nationally seeking to address potential
post-covid symptoms and support people on the road to
recovery.
"We have brought together a wide range of experts representing a
number of professional societies who have made valuable
contributions to the site, to allow us to have a comprehensive
package of information and advice. Importantly we have worked
with people with first-hand experience of Covid to help shape the
site and make sure the content was fit for purpose.”
Alongside bringing back non-urgent services in a safe way and
maintaining a high state of readiness for any future increase in
Covid cases, local health leaders are currently working with
councils and voluntary groups to plan how they will meet the
additional ongoing demand for rehabilitation services
post-Covid.
While in many cases these services will be
delivered by or within existing NHS facilities, where necessary
plans may include using temporary facilities like the first NHS
Seacole Centre, a dedicated rehabilitation and step-down facility
which opened in Surrey at the end of May.
