AQW 25790/17-22


Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast


Tabled Date: 15/11/2021
Answered On Date: 27/01/2022
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what workforce education and training is in place, as of 11 November 2021, to idenfify and manage long COVID; and how many health professionals will require this training.


Answer:
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for providing evidence based guidance and advice for health, public health and social care practitioners. The service specification for Post-COVID services has been designed in line with NICE guideline NG188 on managing the long term effects of Covid-19, which covers identifying, assessing and managing the long-term effects of COVID-19. Updates to NICE guidance are accessible to staff and inform the ongoing review of post COVID-19 services.
The five strands of the post-COVID services model are designed to be delivered in a HSC context, mainly in secondary care but with a key role for primary care both in referral to the service, and long-term support for patients with Post-COVID syndrome.
Workforce education and training is ongoing as new information emerges on the COVID-19 virus and its long-term effects. Examples of training undertaken in primary care include:
GPNI, a website supported by the Health and Social Care Board and NI Medical and Dental Training Agency, provides clinical information and guidance for staff. GPNI hosted a Clinical Update: Long COVID webinar in September 2021. Members of the Long COVID working group joined GPs to update them on the latest clinical evidence around Post-COVID-19 syndrome. The webinar is available for staff to view.
In October 2021 the Royal College of General Practitioners (NI) established a Project ECHO© Post-COVID Network to provide support and guidance to General Practice. The network is open to all GPs across the UK. The network seeks to provide peer support and an opportunity to learn from both up to date evidence and from the practical experience of managing patients in General Practice.
More broadly across the Health and Social Care sector, in May/June 2021 Public Health Agency and Clinical Education Centre delivered a Long COVID webinar series aimed at Healthcare workers across seven weeks focussing on nutrition; sleep; fatigue; chronic pain; respiratory implications; voice; return to work. The seven sessions were attended by over 800 staff. The sessions were also recorded and made available for staff to view. At 11 November 2021 the sessions had been viewed over 11,000 times.