Cole-Hamilton: SNP are telling Long Covid kids to sit and wait

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today expressed his frustration at the Scottish Government after ministers refused to commit to expanding support for patients, including children, with Long Covid.

In a letter to Mr Cole-Hamilton, public health minister Jenni Minto said that the University of Leeds would undertake an analysis of demand and capacity within Scotland’s Long Covid services but fell short of committing to increase funding levels or providing a single point of contact for each Long Covid patient.

In September, Mr Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie and Scottish Conservative spokesperson Sandesh Gulhane joined forces to write to the First Minister and demand action to support the 175,000 Scots with Long Covid.

In the letter they highlight that the Scottish Government has only spent or allocated £6m in Long Covid support, compared to £314m in England and warned that: "Many have been forced to fund their own treatment through private clinics or put themselves at risk with unlicensed medications and treatments available abroad".  

Responding to the minister’s letter, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Big promises were made to children with Long Covid but now they are being told to sit and wait.

“Every day ordinary Scots are facing breathing difficulties, crushing fatigue and chest pain. Some of them have been suffering for over three years ago. They are missing out on their childhoods.

“I cannot understand why a child or adult with Long Covid here in Scotland is worth so much less than one south of the border.

"Despite this brush off, I will continue to press the Scottish Government to ensure that clinicians have the training and resources they need to effectively diagnose and treat Long Covid.

“No one should be forced to fund their own treatment through private clinics or put themselves at risk with unlicensed medications and treatments available abroad.”

Helen Goss, whose daughter Anna is forced to use a wheelchair due to Long Covid, said:

“This response from the Scottish Government is complete drivel. If they are not going to listen and hear what is happening on the ground every single day then we are not going to move forward or make the progress people need.

“The Scottish Government is failing the Long Covid community. How can they write a letter like this knowing there are children in Scotland so sick that they can do nothing else but stay in bed?

“What do children and adults with Long Covid have to do to be heard? They have lost hope.”