A new ‘Post Covid Syndrome Rehabiliation’ course is being launched in DCU with the aim of helping medical professionals identify and treat ‘long Covid’ symptoms.
It is the first course of its kind in Ireland and has been brought about “as a result of the profound range of residual symptoms experienced by patients who have been infected with the Covid-19 virus,” according to Dr Susan Kent, the co-ordinator of the course.
‘Long Covid’ is a term first coined on social media but is largely known to mean the signs and symptoms that develop following COVID-19 infection.
Symptoms of Long Covid include extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, chest tightness and cognitive dysfunction, according to the Health Service Executive (HSE).
One in every 10 patients infected with Covid-19 incurs long term effects. This means that around 10 million people are suffering from Post Covid Syndrome or ‘Long Covid’, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This new course will be key in providing help for patients suffering from Long Covid, most of whom have been unable to receive apt care due to long waiting lists, according to Dr Kent who developed the course along with Dr Oisin O’Connell and Dr Damien Lowry.
“We are aware that with most diseases, early diagnosis and intervention results in the best outcomes for patients,” said Dr Kent in a statement.
“In offering disease information related symptoms and management to a broad range of healthcare professionals we will enable our clinicians to identify, treat/refer as soon as possible to reduce the chronic disease burden for our population,” said DrKent, who is an associate professor at DCU.
The new course also aims to “respond to a National Health Service need that has not been proactively addressed at the moment,” as well as assist in gathering good quality data on the prevalence of long Covid in Ireland.
The course is due to start in October and will take place in DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health within the Faculty of Science and Health.
Alex Cunningham