Mid and South Essex Long COVID Service: Service transformation through innovation, co-production and continuous evolution (ID 578)
Provide Community Interest Company
Abstract
Set up at speed in 2020, our service is continuously evolving to holistically meet patients’ physical, psychological and cognitive needs. Our MDT consists of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, doctors, nurses and clinical psychologists. We offer patients a mix of in-person and virtual rehabilitation and education, including specialist sessions for patients with Breathing Pattern Dysfunction. To fully meet patients’ needs, co-production is at the heart of everything we do.
We offer flexible hours, remote working and bank posts to get the right skill mix for our patients. We have recruited clinicians who came to us as Long COVID patients and have staff working in Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and even Spain.
Our Co-production Group has over 40 members and reviews all aspects of the service. Their patient perspective is essential to successful service delivery and we have volunteer patient and staff champions, who work together on pathway elements, including assessment, intervention and discharge.
Our Outreach Team brings care closer to home in hard-to-reach and deprived areas, offering diagnostic tests including spirometry, oxygen saturation and blood pressure. Our outreach team also works with surgeries/PCNs to increase knowledge and recognition of Long COVID, as many patients have reported scepticism from clinicians and a struggle to be referred.
Each MDT discipline is represented on our Quality Forum, which aims to improve the quality of patients’ experience. Working closely together as an MDT has resulted in the lines between disciplines becoming blurred, as clinicians learn from each other, bringing greater knowledge, understanding and flexibility.
We work with Essex and Anglia Ruskin Universities, offering MDT placements for Physio, OT and nursing students, with joint clinical projects around goal setting and rehabilitation.
Our new service model was co-designed by and is for people with Long COVID, but is appropriate for other post viral conditions, ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia. We already work with other services to reduce their waiting lists and support patients who do not meet their criteria. Our virtual service could be delivered nationally to areas with limited/no post viral support services.
Funding: None
Conflicts of interest: None
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