Posted: 22 December 2020

Specialist clinic to treat Long COVID patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, in partnership with Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust and the Buckinghamshire CCG, will be setting up a specialist clinic at Stoke Mandeville Hospital early in January to support patients across the county who are suffering with Long COVID.

This is part of a national drive to help thousands of patients suffering with the long-term symptoms of coronavirus and enable them to access specialist help locally.

The clinic at Stoke Mandeville Hospital will be accepting referrals from GPs across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, as well as following up with patients discharged from hospitals, to investigate any ongoing coronavirus symptoms which are affecting patients’ lives, such as brain fog, anxiety, depression, breathlessness, fatigue and other debilitating symptoms.

The service will be run by a multi-disciplinary team. Patients will be offered a hospital appointment, as appropriate, with a respiratory consultant, psychologist and physiotherapist to offer both physical and psychological assessments and refer patients to the right treatment and rehabilitation services.

NHS England has provided £10 million for the network of clinics nationally. New research has shown one in five people with COVID-19 develop longer term symptoms. Around 186,000 people suffer problems for up to 12 weeks, the Office for National Statistics found. 

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today also issued official guidance on best practice for recognising, investigating and rehabilitating patients with Long COVID.

Trust medical director, Dr Tina Kenny, said: “We are pleased to be able to have quickly mobilised a service we hope will improve the lives of those suffering with the longer term symptoms of COVID and learn more about the disease.”

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said: “The NHS is taking practical action to help patients suffering ongoing health issues as a result of coronavirus. Bringing expert clinicians together in these clinics will deliver an integrated approach to support patients access vital rehabilitation, as well as helping develop a greater understanding of long COVID and its debilitating symptoms.” 

The NHS has also launched a long COVID taskforce, with patients, charities, researchers and clinicians involved, to help lead the NHS response to long COVID, produce information and support materials for patients and healthcare professionals, and develop a wider understanding of the condition.