Long Covid Tier 3 Assessment and Treatment Services Review

Mersey Care is an NHS Foundation Trust which provides a range of community and mental health services. They were appointed lead provider for Cheshire and Merseyside Tier 3 Long Covid Assessment and Treatment Service and from 1 December 2021, referrals for Long Covid Assessment and Support from patients in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton and St Helens were made into the Mersey Care service.

Mersey Care asked the local Healthwatch (Healthwatch Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, and St Helens) to engage with patients to learn from their experiences of using the service.  Questionnaires were sent out to patients of the Long COVID Tier 3 Assessment and Treatment Service and paper copies of the survey given out at the clinics. Information was also shared on social media and on Healthwatch websites and with people who contacted the local Healthwatch in this period about Long Covid.

Summary of Findings

People have generally had good experiences with the Long Covid Tier 3 Assessment & Treatment Service. The main issues seem to be getting the referral itself, and the communication between referral and appointments. Some people feel disappointed that it took so long to get to the service and didn’t feel initially heard and believed.

Nevertheless, feedback from first contact with the service appears very positive, even if the patient acknowledged nothing has ‘changed’ yet or had only had 1 appointment. They have felt reassured and relieved that the staff have made them feel like they have hope by just believing, seeing, and hearing them and their problems.

Some patients feel frustrated that their health hasn’t improved for them as quickly as they had hoped. Some are frustrated that health professionals still seem unclear about how to diagnose and treat their condition, however some view this as understandable.

Patients feel it would help if they were kept in the loop and provided with more feedback on test results and more advice and information that can put their minds at ease between appointments and give them things to work on themselves. People have spent so long wondering what was wrong with them and getting told that there is nothing that can be done for them that they are wary of feeling left in the dark about their condition.

Some of our respondents had been ill for some time, including when the NHS had no long covid provision and since been referred to 2 NHS long covid services. It is to be hoped that patients developing long covid more recently, with the services established and staff teams more settled and experienced will report fewer delays and smoother care. We would be happy to speak to patients at a later date to see if this has been the case.