Long Covid Information
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Long Covid short videos
© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published August 2023. Review due August 2026. NBT003488
© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published August 2023. Review due August 2026. NBT003489
Resources for people who may be struggling with work because of Long Covid
These resources may help you and your employers if you are struggling with work because of Long Covid. We have chosen ones that contain a wide range of information for various challenges you may have. You might choose to share some of these with your employer.
Covid 19 return to work guide for managers
The "Covid 19 return to work guide for managers" by the Society for Occupational Medicine contains detailed advice on a phased return to work, which can be a very important for people with long Covid symptoms and may be a new concept for employers. It contains a comprehensive overview of work-related issues faced by employers and employees.
https://www.som.org.uk/COVID-19_return_to_work_guide_for_managers.pdf
C19 return to work guide for recovering workers
The “C19 return to work guide for recovering workers” (2021) by the Society for Occupational Medicine provides a comprehensive overview of managerial and employee duties and expectations.
https://www.som.org.uk/COVID-19_return_to_work_guide_for_recovering_workers.pdf
Webinars "Returning to work with on-going COVID-19 symptoms: Guidance for employees and managers
The webinars "Returning to work with on-going COVID-19 symptoms: Guidance for employees and managers" (2021) by University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust provide information for managers and employees and covers practical steps.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfPD5ilcfEbit6R2OgezYD9YeNvnniSyb
"Long Covid FAQs" on the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development website
The page "Long Covid FAQs" on the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development website is directed at employers, and contains some useful facts and statistics, and some information on legal rights.
https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/coronavirus/faqs/long-covid
Faculty of Occupational Medicine Guidance for managers & employers
The "Guidance for managers & employers on facilitating return to work of employees with post-COVID syndrome" (2021) by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine provides employers with general advice on returning to work, and some useful examples of reasonable adjustments.
https://www.fom.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/FOM-Guidance-post-COVID_employers-managers.pdf
Access to Work
Access to Work can provide practical and financial support if you have a disability or long-term condition. This can be useful whether you have a job, are looking for work, are on supported internship or traineeship or want to become or are self-employed.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-factsheet
This video was delivered as a webinar and provides an overview of Long Covid and the impact on people’s working lives and presents key strategies and principles that can support people to return to work and to stay in work.
Contributors:
Dr Tim Robinson provides an overview of the symptoms and management of Long Covid. Dr Robinson works in the Community Long COVID Single Point of Access assessment clinic which covers Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (known as BNSSG).
Fiona Mckechnie shares approaches and adjustments that have been used to support people with fatigue syndromes in the workplace. Fiona is an Occupational Therapist in the Bristol M.E. Service, North Bristol NHS Trust.
If you have Long Covid and would like to have support, please contact your GP to request a referral to your nearest Long Covid clinic.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) Clinics
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TIA is a medical emergency - anyone suffering a suspected TIA should see a doctor immediately.
You may be referred to the TIA clinic because you had symptoms suggesting you’ve had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), or a minor stroke. A TIA is sometimes called a mini stroke.
Why is an urgent appointment with a stroke specialist so important?
About one in ten people who have a TIA develop a stroke within the next week, but we can greatly reduce this with the right treatment.
The right medication can reduce your chance of a stroke, as can changes to your diet and exercise. Rarely an operation may be useful. We will discuss all this when you see us in clinic.
What happens now?
The clinician who initially diagnosed you may give you medication to take. You need to take this each day until you are seen in our clinic. They will also make a referral to the TIA Service.
TIA clinics run daily, including weekends. Every day, the stroke specialist on duty will review all new referrals. If we decide that we need to see you urgently over the weekend or at a bank holiday, the co-ordinator of the TIA Service will phone you on the day tell you what time to come to the unit.
Otherwise, the TIA co-ordinator will be in touch on the next working day to arrange an appointment for you to come in. In some cases, the appointment will be a telephone consultation only. The appointment will usually be on the same day. If you have not heard from us within two working days, please ring the TIA co-ordinator on 0117 342 4800.
Where are the TIA clinics?
Across the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) region, TIA clinics are operated centrally by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) NHS Trust.
There are clinics at Bristol Royal Infirmary and Weston General Hospital and weekend clinics at Southmead Hospital. If you are told to attend a TIA clinic, the TIA co-ordinator will tell you which clinic to attend.
Bristol Royal Infirmary
On week days days, the TIA clinic co-ordinator will tell you where you need to go. This will generally be the TIA Outpatient clinic A403 (Zone A, Level 4). Sometimes they will ask you to go straight to the radiology department to have a brain scan (Location A217, Zone A, Level 2) or to the vascular sciences department for a carotid doppler scan (Location A225, Zone A, Level 2).
Weston General Hospital
On week days, the TIA clinic co-ordinator will tell you where you need to go. This will generally be the TIA Outpatient Clinic within The Main Outpatients area of Weston General Hospital. The Main Outpatients is located at the front of the hospital.
Southmead Hospital
At weekends, clinics will be delivered at Southmead Hospital by the stroke/neurology service (Location Gate 12).
What can I expect to happen at my appointment?
A stroke specialist clinician will ask you to tell them about the symptoms, your past medical history, and what medicines you are currently taking. This will be followed by a physical examination. The clinician will discuss your diagnosis with you. You may be given new medications or a prescription. If you currently pay for your prescriptions, please ensure that you have a means of payment with you
What may we need to do? (Each case is different – you may not need all these investigations)
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- A blood pressure check
- A heart recording (ECG)
- A scan of the arteries in your neck
- A brain scan
- A blood test
- A consultation with a stroke specialist - this may be a consultant, registrar or an advanced nurse practitioner for stroke
You can expect to be at the clinic for at least 3-4 hours and the appointment may take most of the day
What do I need to bring?
Please bring a list of all the prescribed tablets you take – this is very important. If there are other tablets you buy over the counter, please tell us about these. Please also bring any medications you will require throughout the day. If possible, it will be helpful for the person who witnessed you having your symptoms to come to the appointment as well.
There are cafes and shops all locations where you can purchase refreshments. Alternatively, you may want to bring your own provisions.
What about driving?
It is not safe or legal for you to drive until you have been seen in clinic. We will discuss any possible further driving restrictions related to your diagnosis with you in the clinic.
What if I have further symptoms before the specialist appointment?
If you think you are having a stroke, don’t wait – call 999!
What do I need to do?
Please bear these points in mind:
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- DO NOT DRIVE until you are assessed at the clinic
- it would be helpful if anyone who witnessed your symptoms could accompany you to the appointment
- bring any medications that you are taking, or your repeat prescription order form
- eat and drink as normal
- your appointment may take several hours.
- If you have any recurrence of symptoms before your clinic appointment and they resolve within 5 minutes please call NHS 111, if they do not resolve within 5 minutes call 999.
Contact TIA Clinic
Telephone: TIA Co-ordinator 0117 342 4800
Email: BNSSGTIAService@uhbw.nhs.uk
COVID-19 Discover Study
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With ongoing support from Southmead Hospital Charity, the DISCOVER study aims to collect blood samples and other routinely collected microbiological samples as well as medical information from patients with suspected coronavirus.
These blood samples will be analysed for both routine and new tests. Patients will be followed up with after one month to see how coronavirus affected them, and to see how useful the blood tests were at predicting their condition.
Biological samples will also be stored (anonymously) for future research on how COVID-19 makes people ill. In the future, this information could help doctors decide which tests are useful in managing coronavirus.
Dr David Arnold, a Respiratory Doctor at NBT, shares more about the importance of the DISCOVER study:
Video Transcript
Hello, my name is David Arnold, I'm a Respiratory Doctor here at Southmead Hospital and part of the NBT COVID-19 Research Team.
The research response at NBT to COVID-19 has been amazing, with nearly every patient recruited to at least one of our open clinical studies. One of these studies is called the DISCOVER study which is NBT led and set up by me and one of the Microbiology Doctors, Fergus Hamilton.
The Southmead Hospital Charity is supporting us in continuing the DISCOVER study, which aims to analyse blood-based biomarkers from patients who are admitted with the coronavirus.
Because one of the really important decisions that healthcare professionals have to make when seeing a patient with COVID-19 is who can be safely discharged home to recover there and who needs to be admitted to hospital for closer monitoring and support.
But we can do so much more with these samples as well. And with collaborations with the University of Bristol's UNCOVER group, as well as Public Health England, we can look at immunity following the virus, as well as secondary infections and respiratory compromise when people are recovering.
Study Results:
Patient outcomes after hospitalisation with COVID-19 and implications for follow-up; results from a prospective UK cohort
Of those who participated in the DISCOVER study, researchers have found that three quarters of the group who received care for COVID-19 were still suffering ongoing symptoms three months later.
- 81 out of 110 discharged patients were still experiencing symptoms such as breathlessness, excessive fatigue and muscle aches when invited back to clinic.
- Many were also suffering from poor quality of life compared to the rest of the population, struggling to carry out daily tasks such as washing, dressing or going back to work.
Most of the patients did, however, report improvements in their initial symptoms of fever, cough and loss of sense of smell. Reassuringly, the majority of patients had no evidence of lung scarring or reductions in lung function.
Speaking of the findings, Helen Lewis-White (Deputy Director Research & Innovation) said:
“There’s still so much we don’t know about the long term effects of coronavirus, but this study has given us vital new insight into what challenges patients may face in their recovery and will help us prepare for those needs.
We’re pleased that researchers at Southmead Hospital are leading the way, and hope our findings can help patients and their GPs understand the course of post-COVID illness and the role of routine tests."
To find out more about these discoveries, read the full pre-print report.
Please note this is a preprint, so it is a preliminary piece of research that has not yet been through peer review and has not been published in a scientific journal – so this is early data.
Are vaccines safe in patients with Long COVID? A prospective observational study?
The DISCOVER study followed a cohort of patients who were admitted with COVID-19 in 2020, many of whom remain highly symptomatic. It then compared those who received a vaccine to those who didn’t.
- 94% of participants had no worsening of symptoms after receiving the vaccine compared to 86% of unvaccinated sufferers from the same study.
- 23% of the patients with Long COVID actually saw an improvement in symptoms after receiving a vaccine, compared with 15% of the same Long COVID patient group who were unvaccinated.
The study follows uncertainty and concern amongst Long COVID sufferers on the impact the vaccine may have on their symptoms, with anecdotal reports suggesting both worsening and improvement of symptoms.
The study has found that for patients suffering with Long COVID, receiving a COVID-19 vaccine did not worsen their symptoms, which will be of great reassurance to many.
Speaking of these findings, Dr Fergus Hamilton from North Bristol NHS Trust said:
“This is really positive news for those with Long COVID. This study confirms that the COVID-19 vaccines do not worsen symptoms with a hint that they could actually improve them for some people. We hope this provides reassurance for anyone with Long COVID who may have been hesitant to get the vaccine, and we would encourage everyone to get the jab when invited.”
To find out more about these discoveries, read the full pre-print report.
Please note this is a preprint, so it is a preliminary piece of research that has not yet been through peer review and has not been published in a scientific journal – so this is early data.
Thank you to all of our research teams who are making such a different to people’s lives, and also to Southmead Hospital Charity which is raising much-needed funds for COVID-19 research.
Take Part in Research
Become one of the thousands of people taking part in research every day within the NHS.
Contact Research
Research & Development
North Bristol NHS Trust
Level 3, Learning & Research building
Southmead Hospital
Westbury-on-Trym
Bristol, BS10 5NB
Telephone: 0117 4149330
Email: research@nbt.nhs.uk
Point of Care
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Point of Care
Point of care testing (POCT), also known as extra-laboratory testing or Near Patient Testing (NPT), refers to any analytical test performed for or by a patient outside the conventional laboratory setting.
The Point of Care Testing Team provides support for many POCT applications to North Bristol NHS Trust.
The service encompasses:
- Advice on the selection and procurement of POCT equipment.
- Maintenance and servicing of blood gas analysers across the Trust.
- Replacement and servicing of blood glucose/ketone meters.
- Supply of consumables for blood glucose meters including quality control solutions, batteries and user manuals.
- Supply of Pregnancy testing kits (via Pharmacy).
- Training in blood gas analysis, blood glucose analysis, capillary blood collection, urinalysis, haemoglobin testing and pregnancy testing.
- Training materials for urinalysis and pregnancy testing.
- External Quality Assurance schemes for blood glucose and some other POCT tests.
- Support for Haematology analysers situated in Out Patients departments and Operating Theatres.
- Covid-19 testing using Abbott ID Now devices.
Please also see the results of our latest POCT User Survey.
Updated 26/10/2021
Point of Care Testing
The department is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Pathology Sciences Laboratory,
Southmead Hospital,
Westbury-on-Trym,
Bristol
BS10 5NB
Email: POCT@nbt.nhs.uk
Telephone: 0117 4148422
POCT Information on LINK
All POCT documentation (including SOPs, Quickguides and manuals) can be found on the POCT pages on LINK.