NHS England has published the NHS plan for improving long COVID services. The plan provides an update on progress against the 10 actions set out in June 2021, and sets out the framework for deploying the £90m committed by the NHS for long COVID services during the 2022/23 financial year.
The plan has been developed with expert insights from those with lived experience of long COVID, clinicians and partners across the health and care system. It builds on the significant progress made over the past 2 years and sets out action to ensure support is there for everyone who needs it, and patients requiring specialist assessment and treatment can access care in a timely way.
Over the past two years the NHS has invested £224m in support for those affected by long COVID, this includes establishing 90 post COVID specialist services, 14 children and young people’s hubs and launching the Your Covid Recovery platform which has been visited by over 10 million users.
The updated plan sets out further action to strengthen the NHS support offer for people with long COVID. It outlines plans to reduce waiting times for post COVID services and improve communication with patients who have been referred for specialist support.
The plan also recognises it can be challenging for healthcare professionals when faced with a new condition, particularly one where the evidence base continues to evolve. It therefore commits to continuing to develop educational resources to support clinical teams in diagnosing and managing people with long COVID.
You can read the full NHS plan for improving long COVID services here.
