Long Covid

Nadine Dorries Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health (Ms Nadine Dorries)]

I thank the hon. Members who tabled today’s debate on this very important topic. We know that long covid can have a significant impact on the people affected, and I am proud that this Government are committed to doing everything possible to support people who are still suffering with effects on their mental and physical health.

Covid-19 is still a new disease. Indeed, the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) began by identifying that the disease pathway of covid is so new that we still do not have the evidence to understand fully what long covid is. It is not yet clear what the medical, psychological and rehabilitation needs will be for those experiencing long-term effects of the virus.

Typically, the time to recover from covid-19 is 10 to 14 days for mild and moderate cases; however, some people may experience lasting impacts on their health. Long covid describes a mix of mental and physical health effects. Research from the ONS has shown that one in 10 people has covid-19 symptoms for 12 weeks or longer, and it estimated in mid-November that around 186,000 people were experiencing symptoms between five and 12 weeks post infection.

I will start by giving an update on the important work that the Government and the NHS are leading into long covid. We continue to work closely with the NHS and other stakeholders to develop and deliver high-quality services for patients, to make rapid progress in terms of research, and to ensure effective communications and engagement with the public and the workforce. The NHS launched a five-point plan for dealing with long covid and providing support on 7 October 2020 and, just as it rapidly stood up specialist care for acutely ill covid-19 patients at the start of the pandemic, it is now responding sensitively and effectively to long covid.

The NICE guidelines for long covid, and how to manage it, were published on 18 December. For the first time, we have clinical definitions and terms for the initial illness and long covid at different stages. The guidelines describe the most commonly reported symptoms of acute covid-19 and long covid. Acute covid-19 covers the signs and symptoms for up to four weeks; long covid, or post-covid syndrome, is commonly used to describe the signs and symptoms that continue after acute covid-19. The guidelines also set out the support that long covid patients should receive.

The NHS announced the “Your COVID Recovery” online service on 5 July. That online tailored rehabilitation programme enables patients to be monitored by their local rehabilitation teams, and phase 2 was rolled out in November to provide further support for people with long covid. In October, NHS England announced £10 million to fund a network of assessment service centres in each part of England. Those new services bring together doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists to offer both physical and psychological assessments, and refer patients to the right pathway of treatment and rehabilitation.

The Secretary of State spoke to the House in October about his visit to the cutting-edge long covid clinic at University College hospital. There he met people in their 20s and 30s who are living with the long-term effects of the virus. It has completely changed their lives. There are now 69 centres operating across England, where hundreds of patients are already receiving treatment. Those centres are assessing and diagnosing people experiencing long-term health effects as a result of a covid-19 infection.

A further 12 sites are earmarked to launch in early 2021, and they will be in the east midlands, Lancashire, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. The NHS and the wider scientific community are currently working to better understand the disease: the course of the covid-19 virus, including symptoms, severity and duration, long-term effects, and how best to support recovery. NICE and UK Research and Innovation have invested £8.4 million in a post-hospitalisation covid-19 study at the University of Leicester. This is one of the world’s largest comprehensive studies of the long-term health impacts of covid-19 on hospitalised patients. The study aims to better understand and improve long-term outcomes for survivors following hospitalisation with covid-19. The National Institute for Health Research and UKRI have also announced a joint research funding call for ambitious and comprehensive research into the long-term physical and mental effects of covid-19 in non-hospitalised patients. The panel is currently reviewing the bids and projects and this is expected to commence in early 2021.

The NHS has launched a long covid taskforce to help to lead the NHS response to long covid. It will produce information and support material for patients and healthcare professionals and develop a wider understanding of the condition. Led by the director of primary care at NHS England, Dr Nikita Kanani, the long covid taskforce brings together patients, charities, researchers, clinicians, policymakers and the royal colleges to provide an advisory function and to support the delivery of the NHS five-point plan. My colleague the noble Lord Bethell continues to hold monthly long covid roundtables to provide updates from NHS England, NHS Improvement and others working on various areas of long covid.

The covid-19 vaccine marks the start of a fightback against the pandemic. The NHS is deploying vaccines right across the UK and this has reached 3 million today in line with the founding mission to support people according to clinical need, not ability to pay.

Long covid is a new challenge for healthcare systems all over the world, not just in the UK. The UK is committed to listening to people with long covid and leading the way in excellent research, treatment and care. I pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of the NHS staff who set up these services to quickly meet sufferers’ medical needs all over England, to the researchers working hard to better understand this issue, and to the people living with long covid for sharing their insight and their experience with us. Combined with further research, the NHS England long covid taskforce, and the additional services and funding that we are providing, we hope to improve lives and aid in and fight against this global pandemic.