Money pledged for Long Covid care: FOI release

Information requested

1. The amount of money pledged by the Scottish government specifically for Long Covid care in each of 2020, 2021 and 2022. (By 'Long Covid care' I mean any money pledged specifically for treatment of, or research into, Long Covid)

2. Please provide a detailed breakdown of each piece of funding over £5,000 pledged as part of the Long Covid Support Fund.

• This detailed breakdown should include information such as the amount of funding, who or what body or organisation the the funding was given to, and a short description of the purpose of the funding

Response

I have enclosed a copy of the material you have requested in electronic form at Annex A.

Annex A

1.    The amount of money pledged by the Scottish government specifically for Long Covid care in each of 2020, 2021 and 2022. (By 'Long Covid care' I mean any money pledged specifically for treatment of, or research into, Long Covid).

Financial year    Funding made available
2020-2021    £0
2021-2022    £2,588,066
2022-2023    £3,156,924

2.    Please provide a detailed breakdown of each piece of funding over £5,000 pledged as part of the Long Covid Support Fund.

• This detailed breakdown should include information such as the amount of funding, who or what body or organisation the the funding was given to, and a short description of the purpose of the funding

The table below outlines the organisations to which funding has been made available for 2022-23 from the long COVID Support Fund, and the associated amounts. 2022-23 is the first financial year in which allocations from the long COVID Support Fund have been made.

Organisation    Funding amount made available (£)
NHS Ayrshire and Arran    187,554
NHS Borders    50,727
NHS Dumfries & Galloway    79,426
NHS Fife    178,051
NHS Forth Valley    142,020
NHS Grampian    254,847
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde    595,169
NHS Highland    119,641
NHS Lanarkshire    320,007
NHS Lothian    372,215
NHS Orkney    14,716
NHS Shetland    13,676
NHS Tayside    194,620
NHS Western Isles    19,988
NHS National Services Scotland    370,000
Thistle Foundation    87,343
TOTAL    3,000,000

Further detail on the initiatives that this funding is being used to support is provided below.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran, £187,554

• Development of a long COVID multidisciplinary rehabilitation pathway delivering a single point of access for assessment and co-ordinated support from services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychology, depending on what is most appropriate for a person’s needs.
• Liaison with primary care, third sector community support services and where required, onward referral to specialist clinical pathways via normal routes and triage processes.

NHS Borders, £50,727

• Development of clear and easy to access pathways for those requiring support for long COVID. These pathways will be developed by an advanced practice occupational therapist based in primary care alongside clinicians from other specialties.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway, £79,426

• Establishment of a small team of experts to lead on the long COVID Rehabilitation Service development. This includes a Lead GP, AHP, Psychologist and Public Health Practitioner.

NHS Fife, £178,051

• Development of a long COVID rehabilitation pathway, delivering a point of access for assessment and co-ordinated support from services including nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and others depending on what is most appropriate for a person’s needs.

NHS Forth Valley, £142,020

• Development of a screening service for people referred with long COVID and recruitment of an Allied Health Professional long COVID Coordinator, a Clinical Associate in applied Psychology, a full-time Respiratory Physiotherapist and a part-time Psychologist.
• The screening sessions will provide screening and signposting as well as offering supported self management groups.
• The long COVID Coordinator will be responsible for the mapping of services and supporting healthcare professionals’ understanding of referral pathways available to support patients with long COVID. The Coordinator will support the development of local networks, and the organisation and delivery of training, to ensure that guidance, tools and pathways are shared throughout General practice, primary and secondary care.

NHS Grampian, £254,847

• Development of a long COVID rehabilitation pathway embedded within existing services, including supported self management, specialist advice for patients and other professionals, onward referral to appropriate services for investigation or treatment, and may include a single point of access for assessment and co-ordinated support, depending on what is most appropriate for a person’s needs.
• Identifying and responding to training needs of the wider workforce in health and care in relation to managing long COVID.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, £595,169

• Development of a long COVID rehabilitation pathway, implementing a single point of access for assessment and co-ordinated support. This service model is focussed on Occupational Therapists delivering specialist assessment to those presenting with the common symptoms of long COVID.
• This service will be a primary care service, accessed via referral from GPs and secondary care. As such, it will liaise closely with primary care and community health and locality services referring to specialist services where required.
• Interventions provided will include virtual and telephone assessment, signposting to online and digital resources and support to utilise these, as well as virtual and face to face group sessions and where required individual virtual or face to face appointments.

NHS Highland, £119,641

• Development of a multi-disciplinary complex review group to help signpost and coordinate care for those patients who are severely impacted by long COVID and struggling to recover with rehab.

NHS Lanarkshire, £320,007

• Delivery of a single access point to a long COVID rehabilitation pathway, supported by a team of occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy, dietetics and speech & language therapy. The team can assess and help with physical, mental or social difficulties people may have that are related to long COVID.
• The funding made available through the long COVID Support Fund is contributing towards paying for the multi-disciplinary staff supporting the pathway.
• It will support the implementation of a digital, app based tool that allows people with long COVID to measure and monitor their symptoms. This information supports the assessment, intervention and evaluation of their care.

NHS Lothian, £372,215

• Staged scale-up of the long COVID supported Self Management Pathway including the digital self management tool and Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland advice line. Learning from each phase of the pathway will inform the next stage to implement the pathway across NHS Lothian and its partnership areas of East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian, and the City of Edinburgh.
• The application of existing data including how many people have received a clinical intervention and the routes taken to access these services, to inform the development of the Lothian model for long COVID services.

NHS Orkney, £14,716

• Support for a specialised physiotherapist who assesses and supports long COVID cases as a significant part of their job plan. This is in addition to support being provided via services already established in the community depending on people’s specific symptoms.

NHS Shetland, £13,676

• Facilitation of a local pilot to examine whether the implementation of an Allied Health Professional Care-Coordinator role improves outcomes for people living with long COVID.

NHS Tayside, £194,620

• Enhancement of the Tayside long COVID rehabilitation pathway. This pathway will be accessed via an individual's GP in line with SIGN guidelines to deliver an accessible point of access for assessment, support and co-ordination.

NHS Western Isles, £19,988

• Facilitation of Public Health intelligence activity to establish the incidence and need related to long COVID across the Western Isles.

Thistle Foundation, £87,343

• Delivery of a ‘Good Conversations’ training programme for Allied Healthcare Professionals in Scotland.

NHS National Services Scotland, £370,000

• A total of £370,000 has been identified to support NHS National Services Scotland to undertake national level actions to improve care and support for people with long COVID.
• This includes the operation of a National Strategic Network for long COVID, and the once-for- Scotland procurement of a digital tool to assist the screening and evaluation of care for people with long COVID.

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