Spotlight on Long Covid
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Healthwatch Medway tell the stories of five people who have long Covid. They held an online focus group.
People dealt with their initial diagnosis very individually depending on their character and what support they had around them. None had been hospitalised with Covid, but all sought medical help. Their experience varied from responsive to dismissive.
All five were still dealing with significant life changing symptoms which affected their day to day lives, even those that had initially contracted the disease in early 2020. Symptoms included breathlessness, brain fog, a high temperature, feeling dizzy and exhausted. All the participants felt their symptoms had affected their mental health and family relationships.
They had all tried to contact their GP for support. They had different experiences, even for those at the same surgery. Some participants had been referred to hospital but hadn’t heard back.
All participants felt more support would help them, particularly to make them less lonely. They also wanted more medical support. None felt particularly hopeful about the future.