3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Long COVID

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:17 pm on 8 February 2022.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 3:17, 8 February 2022

Thanks very much. I haven't seen that research that suggests that it's similar to Alzheimer's, so if you could send me a copy of that, that would be really useful. What we are trying to do is to learn about long COVID every day. We have invested considerable funding into research, as I set out in my statement, working on this specifically.

There are people in particular who are therapists, who you'll be very aware of, who can be very helpful in these circumstances, giving that support and renewing the confidence of people. That's what came across very clearly to me in meeting some of these people is that, actually, they were very pleased that there was an acknowledgement that there's a problem, and many of them felt that people who they knew—. Because many of them had also suffered COVID, but hadn't responded in that way, as you've heard, some people were told that they were lazy and, actually, that is so far from the truth. What was great is that these people were just so pleased to be listened to, to be heard, but also to be given, then, the practical support that they needed to rebuild their health and their lives.

And certainly, in terms of a postcode lottery, well, I'm really delighted to say that every health board now has this multidisciplinary service, so we shouldn't be seeing that. And obviously, the long-term impact is something that we just need to keep an eye on, which is why I have said that every six months, in relation to long COVID, I want a reassessment to check, 'Are we doing the right thing? What do we need to change? How do we need to re-evaluate the services that we're giving?'