Hansard

That is so disappointing, because, even if nobody else knows this, the cabinet secretary knows that the NHS is stretched to breaking point. It is in crisis. The cabinet secretary is asking staff to do even more with the little money that he gives them, and the £10 million that he announced months ago has not been sent out to help them to put in place services that are required. Shame on him! I note that that is £10 million over three years, which works out as a paltry £33 per person per year. That means no specialist clinics, no specialist dedicated pathways and little support for Scots with long Covid.

In England, at least £210 million has been announced for long Covid clinics, services for children and money for GPs to help with diagnosis. In Wales, dedicated clinical pathways were resourced more than a year ago with £5 million, and another £5 million is being provided now—that is £10 million for a country with a population that is half the size of ours. Why is the scale of the SNP’s ambition so much smaller?

On almost every issue, the SNP claims that it is the UK Government that prevents it from acting. The reality is the opposite. Health is fully devolved, so it is not that the Scottish Government cannot act but that it simply will not act at the pace and scale that is required.

The Government talks about joined-up treatment pathways, yet, in March, a Long Covid Scotland survey found that patients struggled to get their symptoms investigated. Heart and lung problems are associated with long Covid, but only one in four people said that they had been referred to a cardiologist or respiratory clinic. Only one in 20 people said that they had been referred to neurology, despite cognitive impairment and brain fog being among the most commonly reported symptoms. When patients were seen by a secondary service, they often reported having only one appointment, with no follow-up treatment.

The Government argues that tackling the issue requires a holistic approach, but, when one health board put in an evidence-based bid to access funding to deliver such an approach, it was told that its proposals would cost more than the Scottish Government was willing to give.

The SNP is simply not serious about helping people with long Covid to recover. At the moment, Government policy seems to be that we have to live with community transmission of Covid. However, as people catch Covid again and again, despite being vaccinated, more people are getting long Covid. That is true for children, too. Unless action is taken, such as improving air quality in schools—using high-efficiency particulate air filters rather than slicing the bottom off classroom doors—more children will be infected and more will end up with long Covid.

There has been a lack of action on long Covid research. Where is the quality paediatric research? Where is the research on antivirals or prophylactics? There is much more that the Government needs to do.

I turn to employment. Long Covid Scotland carried out an employment survey in March. It discovered that the condition had a profound effect on people being able to work. Some have managed to return to work, some are at work but on reduced hours, and some have not been able to return at all. Employers are struggling to understand, they are not making reasonable adjustments and some are insisting that staff return to work when they are not able to do so. Some people are on full pay, some are on reduced pay and some have lost their jobs completely.

That is especially frustrating for front-line workers who put themselves in danger, caught Covid, now have long Covid, and are being threatened with no pay if they do not return to work while they are still really ill. There is an urgent need for occupational health service advice and support for employers and employees. It is available in major public and private sector bodies, but it is not the case everywhere.

I will close with words from a key worker.

“I worked on the front line during the pandemic, with very little PPE. I just feel discarded. I gave my health to help others, and now I am just a number.”

The voices of the 151,000 who are suffering with long Covid can no longer be ignored. It is high time that long Covid is met with the gravity and urgency that it deserves.

I move amendment S6M-04472.1, to leave out from “recognises the role” to end and insert

“regrets the Scottish Government’s complete lack of urgency in delivering its £10 million Long COVID Support Fund, which was announced in September 2021, with nothing allocated before 1 April 2022; further regrets that no network of specialist long COVID clinics or specialist clinical pathways have been established for individuals recovering from the virus and living with recurring symptoms, in contrast to the steps taken in other parts of the UK; notes the Scottish Government’s latest announcement, but recognises that it falls short of what is required, and calls on it to take immediate steps to increase and roll out funding to NHS boards, working in partnership with local authorities, to ensure that people living with long COVID are accessing the right support and treatment; recognises the importance of developing services in partnership with those living with long COVID, such as Long COVID Scotland; calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that everyone experiencing long COVID is able to access appropriate occupational health support to enable them to return to employment, and considers that further clinical research will improve understanding of the long-term effects of COVID-19 and identify effective treatments.”