The NHS is setting up specialist Long Covid services for children
and young people as part of a £100 million expansion of care for
those suffering from the condition.
The 15 new paediatric hubs will draw together experts on common
symptoms such as respiratory problems and fatigue who can
directly treat youngsters, advise family doctors or others caring
for them or refer them into other specialist services and
clinics.
Some £30 million will also go to GPs to improve diagnosis and
care for those with Long Covid while the new investment will also
boost online services.
The boost to dedicated services for young people is part of a
package of investment in a range of measures to help young people
and adults with long Covid, including a major focus on specialist
treatment and rehab services.
Some estimates suggest that 340,000 people may need support for
the condition including 68,000 who will need rehab or other
specialist treatment.
Sir Simon Stevens will set out the plan to deal with the Covid
‘legacy’ at the annual NHS Confederation conference.
Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, is
expected to say: “The NHS has worked hard to
care for 400,000 Covid patients requiring hospital treatment and
keep essential services going through successive waves and we now
need to step up action to deal with the legacy.
“One of the major health challenges emerging from the pandemic is
Long Covid with hundreds of thousands of people predicted to
suffer debilitating health issues such as breathing problems and
fatigue.
“That is why the NHS is now going to invest £100 million in
specialist services, including care for children and young people
so that parents know advice is on hand through the new hubs to
provide patients and their families with the help, support and
care that they need.
“This is just the latest example of how NHS staff have pulled out
all the stops to provide care for those who need it throughout
this terrible pandemic.”
More than one million people have reported suffering from Long
Covid, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Symptoms include shortness of breath and extreme fatigue with
almost a third of sufferers saying it has a significant impact on
their daily life.
While the majority of children and young people are not severely
affected by Covid, ONS data has shown that 7.4% of children aged
2-11 and 8.2% of those aged 12-16 report continued symptoms.
There is already a network of specialist Long Covid clinics which
have been given £34 million of funding.
Some £70 million of the new investment will extend these clinics
and set up the paediatric hubs.
The hubs will bring together expert clinical teams, including
paediatricians, physiotherapists, nurses and occupational
therapists.
The teams will offer specialist advice to family doctors,
community nurses and others seeing Covid patients aged up to 18
so that they can get the help they need close to home.
The hubs will also see and treat the complicated cases directly
or refer them into other specialist services.
It will also provide a huge boost for online services for the
condition – the Your COVID Recovery website will allow anyone
with long lastingsymptoms to access a range of advice without
needing a referral from a healthcare professional.
The NHS is also exploring plans to launch a rapid access service
for NHS staff to access long covid treatment through either
occupational health or GP referral.
Background
Sites of Long Covid Hubs for children and young people:
- The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NuTH)
- South Tees NHS Foundation Trust (James Cook University
Hospital)
- Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Leeds Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Alder hey
- Manchester Childrens hospital
- Birmingham and Solihull Birmingham Women’s and Children’s
NHSFT
- Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland University Hospital
Leicester NHST
- Cambridge University Hospitals
- Bristol Children's hospital
- Oxford University Hospitals
- Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
- London hub led by the Evelina, Imperial, UCLH and GOSH
