ALLIANCE briefing for Scottish Parliament debate on Long Covid

The ALLIANCE has published a briefing in advance of the Long Covid debate on 19 May 2022.

In advance of the Scottish Parliament debate on Long Covid on Thursday 19th May, the ALLIANCE has drafted a briefing for MSPs.

Informed by engagement with our members and partners, this briefing sets out constructive observations and recommendations on how to improve treatment, care and support for people living with Long Covid, and their families, including:

• Adopting a whole systems, person centred approach, which prioritises lived experience and the vital work of the third sector, and operate an “any door” system of support.
• Explicitly embedding a human rights based approach throughout the approach to Long Covid care and support.
• Co-producing Scotland’s approach to Long Covid care and support with people living with Long Covid, including design, implementation, and review of services.
• Ensuring people have equitable access to high standards of support for Long Covid wherever they live in Scotland.
• Ensuring health and social care staff are informed about Long Covid, its symptoms and impact on people, and options for treatment and support.
• Prioritising further research and engagement to fill the knowledge gap about children and young people’s experiences of Long Covid, so that policy and practice responds to their needs.
• Ensuring that people with Long Covid are able to access the range of entitlements that they require to live independently and well and engage with their communities, including access to social care, social security, food, housing adaptations, and mobility aids.
• Increasing investment in primary care and community-based support to respond to the challenges that people living with Long Covid are experiencing and to ensure that primary care teams are equipped to meet people’s needs.
• Committing some of the funding allocated for Scotland’s approach to Long Covid care and support to investment in third sector investment, particularly to peer support and supported self management.
• Committing to develop the principles of care and support planning and Scotland’s House of Care model.
• Conducting intersectional analysis, given that evidence to date indicates that specific population groups have been disproportionately and adversely impacted by Long Covid.

You can read the full briefing here.

If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing Hannah Tweed at hannah.tweed@alliance-scotland.org.

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