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Long COVID service for children being set up
23/06/2021
Service for young people will have a major focus on specialist treatment and rehabilitation services
Oxfordshire is set to get a specialist NHS Long COVID service for children and young people. It comes as part of a national £100 million expansion of care for those suffering from the condition.
The existing Oxfordshire Long COVID service for adults is run jointly by Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. It has been running since late last year and helps people suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19 with their recovery.
The same team are now beginning work to set up one of 15 new paediatric hubs, which will draw together experts on common symptoms such as respiratory problems and fatigue, who can directly treat youngsters, advise family doctors or others caring for them or refer them into other specialist services and clinics.
The boost for dedicated services for young people is part of a national package of investment in a range of measures to help young people and adults with long COVID, including a major focus on specialist treatment and rehabilitation services.
Respiratory Consultant Emily Fraser, who heads the long COVID service for OUH, said: “This additional funding for long COVID services is very welcome. The integrated clinics we run with Oxford Health enable us to assess patients holistically, investigate appropriately and provide individualised patient-centred care tailored to need.
“We are looking forward to being able to expand our service, reduce waiting times to ensure that all long COVID sufferers have equal access to high quality care, including children and adolescents. The funding for the development of a dedicated a paediatric hub is welcome.”
Emma Tucker, Post-COVID Rehabilitation Coordinator from Oxford Health, said: “The work that we have done with adults suffering from long Covid in recent months has been really valuable and will support the delivery of expanded rehabilitation provision in Oxfordshire.
“We are really excited about the government’s pledge to continue to invest so that we are able to further develop what we do.”
More than one million people have reported suffering from long COVID, according to the Office for National Statistics. Symptoms include shortness of breath and extreme fatigue with almost a third of sufferers saying it has a significant impact on their daily life.
Whilst the majority of children and young people are not severely affected by COVID, ONS data has shown that 7.4 per cent of children aged 2-11 and 8.2 per cent of those aged 12-16 report continued symptoms.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam