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People living with Long Covid in selected parts of the Lothian Health Board Area can now be referred by their GPs to the ground-breaking and innovative Digital Support Pathway for Long Covid pilot.
Thirty-six GP practices are currently enrolled onto the pilot; 13 of these cover the entire Midlothian area, while 15 are based in the City of Edinburgh, 2 are in East Lothian and 6 are in West Lothian.
With invaluable input from people living with Long Covid throughout, CHSS has worked with NHS Lothian and Pogo Digital Healthcare to design and develop the pathway, comprising the digital platform “MyTailoredTalks” and 12 weeks of regular advice delivered via phone calls by CHSS Advice Line health professionals.
People living with Long Covid registered at one of the pilot GP practices will be able to access this new service. Currently over 200 people living with Long Covid are benefitting from this pathway with initial feedback being very positive.
MyTailoredTalks recognises that Long Covid affects everyone differently and provides people living with Long Covid with information and advice about the specific issues they face, such as fatigue, low mood, brain fog or breathlessness in addition to advice on work and financial issues. All users need to do is to complete a simple self-assessment form, before being directed to information relevant to their symptoms and other issues.
People living with Long Covid are then able to request a call back from health professionals on the CHSS Advice Line, who as well as offering more support can refer them to further CHSS services such as local Peer Support Groups. Finally, information on what parts of the service the person living with Long Covid has used is fed back to their GP to help with their ongoing care.
Throughout the pilot, the views of users and professionals have been sought and acted upon to ensure MyTailoredTalks is easy to use, accessible and provides useful, up-to-date information. The partners involved in developing this service aim to have it rolled out to every GP practice in the Lothian Health Board area by the end of 2023.
Mike Smith, 58, from Edinburgh was referred to the pathway by his GP and has found the My Tailored Talks useful and easy to use. He has benefitted greatly from support from CHSS and the Long Covid peer support group.
Listen to Mike talk about the benefits of the Pathway, and ask your GP if this service is available to you.
This page was last updated on January 23, 2024 and is under regular review. If you feel anything is missing or incorrect, please contact health.information@chss.org.uk to provide feedback.