Long Covid patients get help at Richmond clinic

19 January 2022

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According to latest ONS data, 1.3 million people in the UK are living with Long COVID – 40% for more than a year.

In the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, an estimated 3,000 people have Long COVID. About 1,200 have symptoms for at least a year.

Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare’s Long COVID Service is supporting some of these people.

The service has slashed its waiting list and hopes to help even more people cope with their symptoms.

Service lead and occupational therapist Roisin Hyde says: “We support people who struggle to carry out everyday activities because of the after-effects of COVID-19.

“Long COVID symptoms are wide ranging and can come and go. They include severe fatigue, breathlessness, headaches, muscle aches, brain fog and heart rate changes. Our patients have their therapy in the best place for them – either as an outpatient at Richmond Rehabilitation Unit, in an online video call or telephone consultation, or at home.”

People get help with managing their symptoms, learning how to cope when the brain isn’t processing properly, getting the right amount of rest, and increasing chances of recovery. The team also give advice on self-care, sleep, diet, mood, work, exercise and other activities.

Patients start with an initial assessment and personalised plan to address their main concerns and goals. Treatment is one to one and in a group.

One grateful patient wrote to say thank you to Roisin: “You guys are awesome and the way you’re listening and caring for us is excellent and I can say that this way of care is something which I have never experienced and it is very much appreciated. If you didn’t create such a safe environment for us, I doubt I would have been able to speak openly about how I felt.

“The fact that you are willing to listen to us only means that you really want to help and this is something we hardly have nowadays. We are all traumatised from the non-believers and because we were left alone for so long, so these Fridays are always rays of hope for me that something is finally changing for us. I just wish everybody was like you.”

If you are an adult registered with a Richmond GP practice, they or another health professional can refer you to the service.

Further information and useful links:

Contact NHS 111 24 hours a day for free health advice – call 111 or visit www.nhs.uk/111

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