People who may have Long COVID are urged to seek treatment and support

Clinicians in Suffolk and north east Essex are launching a media campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of Long COVID and the treatment and support available.

They’re concerned that the patients they are seeing in the Suffolk and North East Essex Long Covid Assessment Service (SNELCAS) are not fully representative of the population likely to have the condition.

Bus, street advertising and a social media campaign are being used to try to encourage more people with symptoms of the condition to come forward.

Joint Clinical Lead at SNELCAS and respiratory physiotherapist, Sarah Fowler, said: “We know COVID-19 itself took a huge toll on people of minority ethnic heritage and people in deprived areas, but for some reason we are not seeing very many of these patients in our clinic.

“We hope our campaign will reach those who may be suffering with symptoms they can’t explain and encourage them to come forward for the support we can give them to greatly improve their quality of life.

Long COVID is the name given to a wide variety of symptoms which people continue to experience more than 12 weeks after catching COVID-19.

2,154 patients across Suffolk and north east Essex have been referred into SNELCAS to date, with symptoms including breathlessness, chronic fatigue, loss of taste, muscle and joint pain, and ‘brain fog’ – the unofficial term for confusion, loss of concentration and memory issues.

Dr Peter Holloway, GP and Joint Clinical Lead at SNELCAS, said: “We encourage anyone who thinks they may have Long COVID to call their GP surgery. They should fully explain their symptoms to the receptionist, say how long they have had them and how long ago they were infected with the COVID-19 virus.

“The receptionist will make an appointment with a clinician who may look at the patient’s general health and order some tests to see if any other conditions might be making them feel the way they are as it is important to first rule those out.

“Long COVID can be extremely debilitating and patients referred into SNELCAS will receive help to manage their symptoms with the aim of recovering to the point where they can carry out their usual daily activities again.”

A webpage has also been set up to support the campaign.