Ms Sarah O'Connell:

To clarify, long Covid has been used as an umbrella term to explain any negative health outcome following a Covid infection. That is why long Covid is diagnosed only 12 weeks after a Covid infection. The idea, to my understanding, was that post-acute Covid clinics were set up to deal with people in that shorter period. Of course, a Covid infection might exacerbate an existing illness, but long Covid is defined by the WHO as being diagnosed only at 12 weeks. It is an umbrella term for any health outcome, but the main type of long Covid we are concerned with is what some people have referred to as syndromic long Covid, which is characterised mostly by profound fatigue and something called post-exertional malaise. Other outcomes, such as new onset diabetes following a Covid infection, have a very clear pathway, whereas this type of long Covid, which seems to be the majority, does not. There seems to be a little confusion about post-acute Covid clinics versus long Covid clinics. Originally, in the interim model of care, it was the case that some of the post-acute Covid clinics were going to help out as long Covid clinic services, seeing people post 12 weeks until the long Covid clinics all opened. We know, however, that Tallaght is still operating in a sense as a long Covid clinic, even though it was never supposed to be part of the official six, and we do not know why that is. There seems to be some confusion around post-acute Covid clinics versus long Covid clinics.