People who have had long Covid in the past year are being urged to help build up a picture of the support they have been able to get in Norfolk.
A total of 2.2 million people across the country are currently estimated to be suffering from long Covid - 3.4pc of the population.
And patient watchdog Healthwatch Norfolk has launched a survey to establish what support people have received - and what sort of help they would like to see.
Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said: “A post-Covid service is available in the county for those who are suffering long-term effects after contracting it with a team of health professionals including nurses, respiratory experts, physiotherapists and mental health experts there to help.
“We are keen to find out the experiences of people who have used it, how it helps and whether people know it is there.
"This will provide valuable insights and information we can feed back to health leaders.”
The survey is at smartsurvey.co.uk/s/HWNLongCOVID or people can call Healthwatch Norfolk on 0808 168 9669 to arrange a time for a call-back to leave feedback by phone.
READ MORE: Man's '10 months of hell' on journey to long Covid treatment
What is long Covid?
Researchers from King’s College London have said there appears to be three "subtypes" of long Covid, each with its own set of symptoms:
- Those with neurological symptoms including fatigue, brain fog and headache – most commonly found among those who became infected when the most dominant strains were alpha and delta.
- A second group experienced respiratory symptoms including chest pain and shortness of breath. This was found more commonly among those infected during the first wave of the virus.
- A final group are experiencing a diverse range of symptoms including heart palpitations, muscle ache and pain, and changes in skin and hair.
A study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found three-quarters of those with self-reported long Covid said their ability to undertake day-to-day activities has been "limited a lot".
Fatigue is the most common symptom (experienced by 70pc of those with long Covid), followed by difficulty concentrating (48pc), shortness of breath (46pc) and muscle ache (45pc).
There is no standard measure for long Covid, with the ONS using a definition based on symptoms that have persisted for more than four weeks after a first suspected coronavirus infection, where the symptoms could not be explained by something else.
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