Listening Corner

Long Covid

by Community health advisor

“Get support on your COVID-19 Recovery”
June 2022, the rise in new cases of Covid-19 cases has been
recorded, but we acknowledge as many as two million people
in the UK may be suffering from long Covid, according to new
Office for National Statistics data.
1.4 million people who have long Covid said the condition is
seriously affecting their day-to-day activities, while 398,000
(or one in five of them) said their ability to undertake day-today activities has been “limited a lot”, the ONS found.
The highest rates of long Covid have been found among
women aged 35-69, people living in more deprived areas,
those working in social care, teaching and education or health
care, and people with other health conditions or disabilities.

The study found that patients hospitalised with Covid still experience at least one symptom even after being discharged. These Covid patients experience a lower quality of life and poorer health, compared to the rest of the public. For some patients, long Covid has been truly debilitating leaving them unable to wash or walk without the help of their family. Covid symptoms according to the NHS are:
extreme tiredness (fatigue), shortness of breath, chest pain/tightness, problems with memory and concentration (“brain fog”), difficulty sleeping (insomnia), heart palpitations, dizziness, pins and needles, joint pain, depression and anxiety, tinnitus, earaches, feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite, high a temperature, cough headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste.
The NHS website recommends that you contact your GP if you’re worried about symptoms four weeks or more after you had Covid-19 or think you may have had the virus. It might help to keep a symptoms diary before you visit them.
Please consider joining a local community group, who have developed accessible referrals and pathways.
Connecting Communities: connectedcommunities@haringey

healthwatchharingey.org.uk @publicvoiceuk
If you’re worried about symptoms 4 weeks or more after you had COVID-19 or thought you
may have had COVID-19 contact a GP. It’s still important to get help from a GP if you need
it. To contact your GP surgery either call them, visit their website or use the NHS App.
To find out about using the NHS during COVID-19 vist https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/
coronavirus-covid-19/using-the-nhs-and-other-health-services/


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