St Vincent’s opens Multidisciplinary Long Covid Clinic

31 Mar 2022

St Vincent’s is the first hospital in NSW to institute a dedicated post-acute multidisciplinary Long COVID-19 clinic, to manage patients still suffering the effects of COVID months after testing negative to the virus.

UK studies show prolonged symptoms affect 70-80% of hospitalised COVID patients, with 20% having to change or lose employment due ill health. Community managed COVID patients also suffer debilitating symptoms. The St Vincent’s ADAPT study reported 19% of covid patients cared for in the community as having persistent symptoms at 8 months post infection.

To support GP’s and the community with persistent post-COVID symptoms, the outpatient clinic is designed to carefully manage and minimise long-term symptoms and ultimately, facilitate patients’ return to work or school. The team includes respiratory and rehabilitation specialists, nursing, physiotherapy and psychology to support a holistic recovery from this new and complex disease.

The clinic will be a hybrid model of both virtual and face-to-face, and will simultaneously recruit patients for our ADAPT study and sub studies at the Garvan, CRUfAD, Kirby and AMR regarding therapeutic and self-management options and epidemiology for Long COVID in NSW.

One of the first patients to benefit is 18 year old Payton (pictured), who 3 months post infection is suffering from debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness and pain. For Payton, simple tasks such as attending school have proven difficult without regular rests throughout the day, and she has been unable to resume netball practise. With support from the St Vincent’s long covid clinic, Payton hopes to be complete her HSC this year and return to normal activities.

Click here for more information.

Payton commencing rehabilitation in the St Vincent's Long COVID Clinic