Long Covid service success
Long Covid – or post-Covid syndrome - was first identified in May 2020 during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and several months before the first vaccines became available in December 2020.
The latest ONS figures (Feb 2023) indicate about two million people in the UK have long Covid. Research suggests up to 20 per cent of people who contract the virus will go on to have longer term symptoms – but much uncertainty remains about causes and long-term effects.
Established in January 2021, the Birmingham and Solihull long Covid service brought together community, acute and mental health clinicians in a ground-breaking partnership to use established treatments and develop new models of care to provide relief, rehabilitation and support for people who experienced 'long' symptoms after their initial Covid infection.