May 2023
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This conference assessed priorities and next steps for addressing the impact of long COVID in Ireland.
Areas for discussion included developing and implementing research into the condition, the state of specialised services in Ireland, and progress on the Model of Care, which recommended the creation of eight post-acute and six long COVID clinics.
It was a timely opportunity to discuss Ireland’s strategy for tackling long COVID following analysis from Denis Naughten TD - who was part-chairing this conference - which suggests that almost 340,000 people in Ireland could have been affected. It also followed a motion forwarded by a regional group of TDs calling for swifter action to support those with long COVID, which secured unanimous Dáil Éireann support.
With the HSE implementing the Model of Care and developing an epidemiological survey to gauge long COVID numbers in Ireland, delegates assessed progress so far, priorities for recruitment and the workforce, and next steps for research and data.
We are pleased to have been able to include keynote sessions with Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist & National Clinical Director, Integrated Care, HSE; Professor John Lambert, Consultant in Infectious Diseases, Mater and Rotunda Hospitals; and Full Clinical Professor, UCD School of Medicine; Professor Corinna Sadlier, Consultant in Infectious Diseases, Cork University Hospital Ireland; and Clinical Professor (Honorary), University College Cork; and Professor Daniel Altmann, Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Imperial College London.
Overall, sessions in the agenda looked at:
- the interim model of care: priorities for creating a centralised care hub
- long COVID clinics: next steps for implementation - providing effective staffing and funding - tackling backlogs in access to long COVID clinics - relieving pressures on GP waiting lists
- patients: providing the support needed - identifying those most at risk - options for workplace support - helping those out of work to return quickly
- research: informing future strategies with data from current long and post-acute COVID clinics - implementing effective surveillance to understand, scale and respond to the issues
- policy coordination: integrating responses with Sláintecare reforms and waiting list strategies
The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who attended from the Department of Health; MHRA; and the Houses of the Oireachtas.
