Long Covid

Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)]

I would like to begin by thanking the hon. Members for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) and for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) and my hon. Friend the Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) for securing the debate, and I thank all Members for their very personal contributions.

For thousands, covid-19 is something neither succumbed to nor overcome in a matter of days. For many, it has lasting mental and physical impacts that affect the body many months after initial infection. It is nearly a year since the first case of coronavirus was recorded in the UK, and still very little is known about the debilitating post-covid syndrome. I pay tribute to the LongCovidSOS group and all the online support groups that work tirelessly to raise this issue and support one another.

At this stage, we cannot say with any real certainty what exactly long covid is. Nor we can accurately predict the true number of people suffering symptoms of long covid. The Office for National Statistics has published estimations suggesting that the proportion of people displaying symptoms for a period of over 12 weeks could be as many as one in 10. Let us be clear, this is not a syndrome being experienced by a small minority of people. There is also finite evidence on the best way to treat the condition, which has vastly varied symptoms. Without a clear understanding of exactly what the condition is, this makes it far more difficult for health professionals to manage and support those who are affected by it. With better data collection and further research, and by listening to those living with long covid, we can begin to effectively treat the condition. Will the Minister please outline what work the Government are doing to close this gap in knowledge?

What we do know for certain is that the symptoms of long covid can be severe, completely debilitating and utterly crippling, preventing people from living their normal lives. This impact can have a detrimental effect on people’s mental health, their wellbeing and, as we have heard today, their physical wellbeing. It leaves many unable to return to work months after their initial battle with the virus and causes a great deal of uncertainty in already anxious minds. It is crucial to understand that this stress and anxiety can cause relapses in the condition, as sufferers themselves have told me.

Many people with long covid do not know when or if they will return to work. Without action from the Government, the long-term social and economic consequences of this could be grave. Key workers have an increased risk of catching covid. NHS workers in particular are at least three times more likely to contract it than the general population, and this could wreak havoc on our frontline workforce. What steps are the Government taking not only to protect the NHS workforce further but to ensure that staffing levels are such that patients continue to be treated and the population continues to be vaccinated?

The availability of treatment and care for individuals experiencing long covid must be a matter of immediate concern to the Government, and I urge them to adopt a patient-led approach. Could the Minister please outline what progress has been made on setting up long covid clinics, and what plans the Government have to extend this programme in 2021? There simply cannot be a postcode lottery of service provision for long covid sufferers. No one person’s life is more valuable than another, and the Government must ensure that that is reflected in access to treatment.

Some long covid patients are being denied referral because they never had a positive covid test. For the many people who suffered with covid in the first wave back in March and April and were not eligible for testing at the time, that is proving incredibly frustrating. Will the Minister outline what measures the Government will take to ensure that people do not miss out on much needed treatment, particularly if they fall into the category of people who were unable to have a covid test in the first wave?

The Government have to step up and show leadership. There has to be clear messaging to the public to ensure that they are sufficiently informed about the condition and about where to seek help if they need it. That messaging needs to combat the misinformation about covid that is out there presenting it as a myth or similar to the flu. I would like to pay tribute to the former MP for Leigh, Jo Platt, who, along with LongCovidSOS and support groups on Facebook, is campaigning tirelessly on this issue. As Jo told me, there are no words to describe how covid deniers have made her feel. She said: “For people to seriously deny our experiences has been soul-destroying.” We have to get this right.

It is also essential that healthcare professionals at every level of the NHS are properly trained to treat long covid, distinguishing between the different conditions that fall under the term. This includes frontline mental health workers, as the mental health implications of long covid can be severe. Within an acute crisis, it is far too easy to push longer-term concerns to the periphery. Should the Government continue to do this with long covid, they do so at their peril.

Throughout this crisis, far too many people have felt that their voices have been silenced. For the sake of the health and wellbeing of all those living with long covid, please do not silence them. There is still so much that is unknown about this virus and how it affects us, but one thing that is certain is that long covid should be a matter of serious concern, and without concerted action by the Government we may be living with the consequences of this for many years to come. We are still learning so much more about the impact of covid-19 on our communities, our bodies and our wellbeing. There are thousands of people out there currently suffering with long covid. They are relying on us, and on the Government, to get it right for them.