Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Murphy, O'Rourke and Ó Cathasaigh for raising this important issue. I hear loud and clear what they are saying about people not feeling supported. It is of great concern and I want to reflect this. I advise the Deputies that the HSE has developed an interim model of care for long Covid that aims to build on existing service provision in addition to establishing new services in GP, community and acute hospital settings. The HSE identified early in the pandemic the need for this service and set up a multispeciality, multidisciplinary team to develop the interim model of care, under the auspices of the chief clinical officer.

The priority is to ensure there are long Covid and post-acute Covid clinics operating in each hospital group - and I note the point made by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh - to ensure a national service as close to home as possible for those suffering from long Covid. To ensure this national service can be put in place, the Minister allocated funding that facilitated an overall investment of €6.6 million for long Covid service development in 2023, a trebling of the allocation for 2022.

At present, six long Covid clinics and seven post-acute Covid clinics operate nationally. The long Covid clinics operational under the model of care include St. Vincent’s University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. The post-acute Covid clinics operational under the new model of care include the Mater hospital and Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown. In addition, Tallaght University Hospital, St. James’s Hospital, Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Galway and University Hospital Limerick are operating combined post-acute and long Covid clinics. The HSE has also advised that there is a tertiary neurocognitive clinic in St. James's Hospital, led by a consultant neurologist with a background in neurocognitive disorders. This clinic is accepting referrals from long Covid and post-acute clinics around the country. Recruitment, which includes consultants in a number of disciplines and administration, is under way. To date, 65.9 whole-time equivalent posts have been sanctioned across all of the post-acute and long Covid clinics. As of 8 September 2023, 46.1 of these posts have been recruited.

The HSE also commissioned a HIQA review of international evidence to further inform the development of the service, the results of which were published in December 2022. The review examined 24 guidelines and two models of care and found that approaches and recommendations in the interim model of care are broadly consistent with those identified in this international literature review. An online epidemiological survey, FADA, is under way, which will provide insight into the prevalence of long Covid in the Irish population and the risk factors for developing long Covid. The FADA study will determine the prevalence of long Covid for individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 between March 2020 and 31 Jan 2022 by PCR testing. The results of the survey are due later this year.

Most children with Covid-19 infection have asymptomatic or mild disease. Fortunately, the incidence of severe disease and hospitalisation of children with Covid-19 is low. At present, the diagnosis and care for children and young people suspected of having long Covid is provided by GPs and existing referral pathways within paediatric services. The evolving evidence regarding the impact of long Covid in children is being monitored by the HSE to ensure service delivery is adapted as needed.

I thank the Deputies again for raising this issue. I will bring back their responses to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I note the very serious concerns they have raised.

See this speech in context