Fifers with long Covid have called for better support for the condition after struggling to access help and treatment.
Around one in 50 people in Fife are living with long Covid symptoms, according to an Freedom of Information Request submitted to the health board.
According to the Scottish Government, in 2023-24, NHS Fife spent only £24,000 of its £178,000 long Covid funding.
And this financial year, it says £178,051 is available to Fife with £124,636 allocated to date.
The health board has only very recently established a “fledging service” to help sufferers with experts warning few people in the Kingdom are even aware of it, never mind knowing how to get much-needed help.
One of those Fifers with long Covid is Erica Laibbrandt, 62, from Kelty.
Since she caught the virus in November 2020 she has never fully recovered.
She says: “I called my doctor to ask if I could be referred to a specialist service for long Covid because I thought maybe there was one and I had missed it.
“But he had a look and said there was nothing. There was no specialist or anything.
“I have struggled with fatigue and brain fog and because there is no specialist service to help, I have just had to try different things myself.
“I have taken various supplements, but nothing I tried worked.
“The only thing I have found which has helped me is Creatine.”
Creatine is a naturally occurring supplement that is often used by athletes and gym goers to help build muscle.
“I find it really helps with the brain fog and keeps my head clear.”
Why is a specialist service needed in Fife?
In the weeks after having Covid, Erica struggled with extreme fatigue.
She would have energy in the morning for two hours before feeling completely exhausted.
As a result, she had to give up her job as a supermarket customer advisor in Stirling.
She also had to give up her flat.
“I wasn’t able to return to work because I was so exhausted,” she explains.
“Sometimes I was so fatigued I only managed to have a shower and get dressed.
“In the end I couldn’t pay my mortgage so I had to sell my flat and move in with my partner in Kelty.
“My fatigue is still really bad so I have to watch I don’t overdo it. I have breathlessness and the brain fog is bad too.”
‘My GP has nowhere to refer me to’
She believes her symptoms could be managed better if there was a specialist service in Fife.
“There should be something to help me manage my condition and help me with my symptoms.
“At the moment I can’t be referred anywhere because my GP doesn’t have anywhere to refer me to.
“Two months ago I asked my doctor for help with my fatigue and I asked if he had any tips.
“He told me to go for a brisk walk.
“The worst thing you can do with long Covid is go for a brisk walk since more exercise can make it worse, so suggesting that was pointless.
“I just have to manage as best I can myself because there is no-one to help me.”
‘Becoming rapidly disillusioned with the NHS’
Meanwhile a 53-year-old woman in West Fife with long Covid struggles with her breathing, fatigue, brain fog, pain and blood pressure problem since having Covid early in 2020.
She doesn’t want to be named as she was previously trolled for speaking up on social media about the condition.
She says: “I struggled to just get out of bed for a long time. I didn’t start to even feel slightly better until 18 months afterwards.
“But it’s now been four and a half years and it’s been an endless succession of new symptoms popping up.
“I always thought if I got really sick, the NHS would be there for me. And I became rapidly disillusioned when I realised there was no help coming.
“Weeks after I had Covid I phoned the doctor and asked him why am I not getting better and why do I have all these problems?
“He said: “Well what do you expect me to do about it?”
“I asked the doctor if I could get respiratory therapy to help with my breathing.
“And I was told there were no respiratory physiotherapists available in Fife and there probably wouldn’t ever be.
“So there was nowhere to go on that.
“Instead I managed to find a private respiratory physiotherapist.
“But I could only afford two sessions and they were online.”
Why would a dedicated service make a difference?
She believes a dedicated long Covid service in Fife would make a big difference to those with the condition.
“There is no specialist service – no joined up working at all.
“No-one who can look at you with long Covid as a whole because I have multiple conditions now as a result of long Covid which I didn’t have before.
“At the very least there should be some kind of hub so they could at least determine you have long Covid and make referrals.
“It is just a constant fight to get anything.
“People like me with long Covid feel abandoned and left to rot.”
What has the Scottish Government done to help?
The Scottish Government has established a £10 million long Covid Support Fund to support NHS boards.
This funding would develop services into more clearly defined local pathways and provide a more co-ordination.
What should the long Covid funding be used for?
Long Covid Scotland is a volunteer-led charity run by people living with long Covid.
Jane Ormerod, chairman, says the charity expects all health boards in Scotland to have used the money allocated from Scottish Government over the last three years to provide structured care for people with long Covid.
She continues: “Fife has only recently established a fledgling service.
“This is despite the money for this being available for some time. This may be due to difficulty in recruiting staff to what are often part time temporary posts.
“Consequently few people know about the service let alone access it – hence why people are feeling abandoned.”
What does NHS Fife say?
A spokesperson for NHS Fife says while long Covid is a relatively new condition being studied, it has strongly emphasised there is access to services available across NHS Fife and the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership.
The spokesperson says: “We have adapted our long Covid service to fall under the umbrella of other long term conditions management and existing pathways of care.
“Existing staff have also been upskilled to further future proof our delivery of long Covid support for Fifers.
“We have also been working to continue to raise awareness with primary care colleagues to ensure awareness of national guidance and referral processes.”
The spokesman says due to the temporary nature of the long Covid funding from the Scottish Government and well reported national recruitment challenges, NHS Fife was unable to spend the allocated long Covid budget it received previously.
“But despite that, we reiterate anyone who is assessed as needing support will be given access through existing pathways of care.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson adds: “We take the issue of long Covid very seriously.
“And we recognise the impact it can have on the health and wellbeing of those most severely affected.
“We engage with NHS boards on a regular basis on their capacity needs and will continue to do so in order to inform the allocation of the fund.
“As NHS Fife has highlighted, long COVID support is available through existing care pathways for long-term conditions.”
Conversation