BTS response to NHSE&I long-COVID clinics announcement

Over the weekend NHSE&I has announced a plan to establish 43 specialist long-COVID clinics across England and Wales, with a dedicated £10m funding package.

BTS warmly welcomes this initiative, and are very pleased that NHSE&I proposed a role for Respiratory Clinical Networks in how these clinics will be delivered.

However, we also recommend that respiratory professionals are involved at the highest level and from the start in designing the specialist care that all these patients need. Creativity and innovation are key strengths of the respiratory workforce which should be harnessed to ensure that these initiatives deliver the best possible outcomes.

These services don’t only require adequate funding, but also infrastructure and the necessary workforce, which is in short supply within the specialty at present. 

Professor Jon Bennett, BTS Chair commented:

“Respiratory specialists at all levels have been caring for patients in hospital, but have also been running post-COVID (including long-COVID) clinics throughout the country since the peak of the pandemic. 

“Our respiratory workforce includes doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, allied health professionals, physiologists and other specialists, who have all shown great leadership and invention to adapt to the pandemic, but their numbers and time are limited and increasingly stretched across all these services.

“They should not just be expected to find a way to deliver these new clinics, which realistically, might only be possible at the expense of other services. There has been too little consultation with the specialty, even if it’s going to be the one in charge of care for patients with COVID-19.”

COVID-19 is a predominantly respiratory condition. While 15% of the patients in hospital with the virus require Intensive Care, the remaining 85% of patients were treated on respiratory and general wards, with respiratory professionals playing a crucial role in the care of all of them.

As admissions for respiratory illnesses are about to surge due to the colder weather, respiratory specialists will also be expected to deal with both these extra patients and the second wave of COVID-19, the extra pressure on respiratory wards needs to be accounted for when planning the long-COVID and any new COVID-19 service announced by NHSE&I

Visit our Workforce pages or browse our COVID-19 resources