UK: The Clinical Post COVID Society

Just looking these up. A few seem to be based in Leeds. I assume Sivan is the same person involved in this: Latest news from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (leedsth.nhs.uk) ?

 

Jayne Woodcock (psychologist) seems to be in the following thread: United Kingdom: News from BACME - British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS | Page 3 | Science for ME (s4me.info)

offering compassion-focused therapy at that event

 

Dr Harsha Master (GP) video on the long covid service she is involved with: Long covid service needs and development: Community - Dr Harsha Master (youtube.com)

I haven't watched it in full yet.

 

Dr Anibran Gupta a quick google this seems to be the service he has been with: Pioneering post COVID service helps southwest Londoner get life back on track :: Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (clch.nhs.uk)

 

This paper has both Heightman and Livingstone as authors talking about that UCL service: Post-COVID-19 assessment in a specialist clinical service: a 12-month, single-centre, prospective study in 1325 individuals | BMJ Open Respiratory Research

and here : Speaker-Bios-FINAL.pdf (potsuk.org) as well as Harsha Master

and this is a presentation by Livingstone (on POTS and Long COvid): Rehabilitation - Rebecca Livingston (youtube.com) at 3mins in then they mention 4 red flags during assessment and one of these includes PESE (can drain your 'body battery' and lead to a flare of symptoms eg from having a shower or something cognitive).

It is only 15mins long so worth a watch?

EDIT: at 6min 40 the slide that comes up is: to exercise or not to exercise?

 

They refer to the same 'three Rs' there: "Patients with long COVID have called for ‘recognition, research and rehabilitation’,23 "...

Reference 23 is "Long Covid: WHO calls on countries to offer patients more rehabilitation" https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj...581035c954ca4f8e3d533522&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

"WHO’s director general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, highlighted the “three Rs”—recognition, research, and rehabilitation. Recognition of the post-covid-19 condition was now increasing, he said, but still not enough research was carried out. He added that countries needed to show commitment to including rehabilitation as part of their healthcare service."

(That article also makes a comparison with lupus: "Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, told the seminar that the NHS needed to have long covid clinics but that these raised a number of questions, including how patients would be referred and which clinical specialties would staff the clinics. He said that, in the same way as lupus, a patient may need input from many specialties including neurology, cardiology, endocrinology, and respiratory teams.")

 

I fear that is over-generous. If during acute Covid someone gets lung damage they can be treated as someone recovering from pneumonia. I doubt there is actually any rehab after being in hospital much. You just build up strength and get used to being able to do less. If the complication was a stroke you can have stroke rehab.

There is no need for a Post Covid Society for those things. NHS England has almost certainly given support in order to be seen to be responding to the political pressures around 'Long Covid' of the post-viral fatigue or ME/CFS sort. The professionals joining are likely to be motivated by the same category.

With luck hardly anyone will be interested in joining!

 

Having read Jonathan's post above, I'm reminded of this post by @SNT Gatchaman *
I reckon Jonathan's right i.e. those who participate won't fit this description!

*"I would however argue back with his point about not faulting clinicians because the researchers haven't given them the tools. That's a two-way street. The clinicians need to demand the tools in order to be able to care for their patients. Instead they've been happy to spin their wheels and fail their patients with psychosomatic nonsense for decades."
https://www.s4me.info/threads/long-...d-social-media-2023.31490/page-55#post-503956

 

I have had confirmation that yes, this is the case, and that as of April 2025 they will be taking over responsibility for our local Long Covid clinic as the NHS will be stepping back. Not sure if this is nationally?

Lead Psychologist Jayne Woodcock is apparently former BACME as is keen on the rehab approach.

 

Oops. I think I am repeating known info, but had a conversation about this elsewhere today.