Dr Amir Khan shares ‘massive issue’ for anyone with long Covid
Lack of information about long Covid is a ‘huge problem’ for patients with the condition, says Dr Amir Khan. She also said that she sometimes feels ‘really helpless’ when seeing patients with this condition, but that if you have symptoms it is important to come forward for help as treatment can help.
The NHS explains that long Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, occurs when Covid-19 symptoms last for more than twelve weeks. Symptoms may include fatigue, joint pain, shortness of breath, or brain fog. Treatment is available and anyone with health concerns should speak to a GP, Dr. Amir Khan says more investment is needed to better understand and manage the situation.
The NHS GP and television doctor discussed the challenges of treating long Covid patients during a guest appearance on the programme. Brave Politics podcast. During the discussion, Dr. Amir was quizzed about long Covid patients feeling publicly overlooked and expressed empathy for people living with the disease, for which there is currently no cure.
Dr Amir told the audience: “Long Covid is a very poorly understood condition and it’s a very systemic, complex issue and it’s going to affect everyone differently. You know, everyone has a different version of long Covid because it’s so multi-system, it’s so provocative. It can cause so many different things to go wrong at the same time and you’re left with these conditions that no one really wants to touch because there hasn’t been enough investment in understanding and also management.”
The GP claimed: “Most hospitals used to have a long Covid service run by the respiratory team and maybe they would look after it. All that seems to have melted away now. And as I said, because long Covid can affect your brain, your lungs, your skin, your joints, it can affect so many things, your mental health and also how tired you are, we don’t have one group of people looking after that.”
Dr Amir explained that if he sees a patient presenting with long Covid, he may need to refer them to multiple departments, such as rheumatology for joint pain and respiratory for lung problems. He said: “There are people who were really well and healthy a few years ago who are now very affected by their symptoms and many of them have lost their independence and ability to earn money as a result. We have nothing to look after them.”
The doctor continued: “We’re talking about adults but it can affect children too. So it’s a real problem. They come in, I feel really helpless when I see them, to be honest, I know it’s one of those consultations where, yes, I can listen to them and yes, I can empathize with them.”
“But I’m very limited in the things I can do to help them because giving them painkillers isn’t going to be a long-term solution. And we don’t know enough about the condition to know what specific medication might help reverse some of the symptoms. And that’s a huge problem for them. So they’re left in limbo.”
