Paul Murphy presses Taoiseach on urgent long Covid data gap
Paul Murphy raised the issue of long Covid with the Taoiseach, warning it will be a pressing issue for the health service and society. He argued that the state lacks central data on long Covid and called for a national register to guide resource allocation.
Parliamentary intervention
Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach about long Covid and recounted a parliamentary question he had put to the Minister for Health on how many people in Ireland have long Covid. He said reliable figures are essential to plan services and resources.
Patient example and clinic campaign
Murphy described meeting Pete Brennan during campaigning to save the Taoiseach long Covid clinic, which was thankfully saved. He said Brennan suffered severe fatigue, memory loss and shortness of breath - symptoms that have had a huge impact on his life.
Prevalence and severity cited
Murphy cited figures suggesting that worldwide well over 10% of people who get Covid suffer some form of long Covid, and that a minority experience a very severe form that can continue for many months or potentially years.
Data gap highlighted
He reported that the HSE replied to his parliamentary question saying it does not currently hold central information on numbers of patients affected by long Covid. Murphy described that lack of central data as astounding and argued "we can't manage what we can't measure".
Government response and next steps
The Taoiseach acknowledged the point, noting intense pressure on health services during and after the pandemic and delayed diagnoses. He agreed a clear focus on long Covid is needed, said a central register would inform practice and resource allocation, and committed to engage with the Minister for Health on the issue.
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Thanks, Ken Corle. I want to raise with the Taoiseach the very serious issue of long Covid, which I fear will be a pressing issue for our health service and our societies in the coming years. Figures suggest that on a worldwide basis, well over 10% of people who get Covid suffer some form of long Covid, and a minority of those suffer a very severe form of long Covid that can continue for many, many months, even potentially years. with quite severe symptoms. I met a man, for example, in campaigning to save the Taoiseach long Covid clinic, which was thankfully saved, a man, Pete Brennan, who was suffering from very severe fatigue, memory loss, shortness of breath, was having a huge impact on his life, and there's many other people like that affected. So we're going to need to invest in long Covid clinics right across the country. I asked the Minister for Health in a parliamentary question a month ago about how many people in Ireland have long Covid have long Covid. He referred to the HSE and the HSE answered saying that the HSE does not currently hold information centrally on the numbers of patients affected by long Covid. I have to say I found it quite astounding. we can't manage what we can't manage what we can't measure. If we don't know how many people have long Covid, how does the government, the state, know where to put the resources, how much resources to put in, and so on. That doesn't make any sense. Does the Taoiseach agree that we need to start collecting that data centrally? In terms of Deputy Murphy and long Covid, it's a fair point that, again, that information isn't held centrally. Although, I think we have to bear in mind the intensity of pressure on the health services during Covid and even worse after Covid because of the fact that so many people have come back, you know, as Covid receded, in terms of the manifestation of a whole range of conditions, a delayed diagnosis. So, there has been a lot of pressure on emergency departments, but also pressure on the basic level of services since the ending of the emergency phase of the pandemic. And I do think we need a clear focus on long Covid. And, yes, in time to get a central register of people who have that condition, because that would inform better practice and better protocols around treating that condition. I would enable a more informed allocation of resources also to the health service and a better focus on that. And I will engage with the Minister for Health in relation to that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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