Long Covid sufferer Sarah MacDougall calls for more support for patients amid concerns some are being 'ignored'
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A call is being made by one of the most prominent Highland patients to be hit by Covid for more help.
Sarah MacDougall (43), who has been left with a life-long condition due to the virus - after spending two weeks on life support in Raigmore - was named by her consultant as the most serious case of the disease in the city.
The condition of Long Covid is found in a significant number of victims of the virus, leaving people living with severe illness.
A report, commissioned by the UK Government shows that a tenth of people with symptoms of Covid had symptoms that lasted at least 12 weeks and were severe.
Mrs MacDougall, who remains on sick leave from her job as a care home cook after contracting the virus in March 2020, said: "Those of us who have had Covid and are still experiencing the ill effects of it are being ignored.
"I still find it difficult to walk, and I have had to research the majority of the activities that are helping me get better myself.
"I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) since suffering from the virus, and I have had to pay for my own therapies myself - although after a bit of a fight some of that money will be returned to me.
"I am still off work as I can still not walk properly.
"People think the virus is over after you are declared Covid free, but the fact of the matter is that it goes on for a long time.
"18 months later and my life has been changed forever.
"We need much more support in the Highlands and recognition of the illness as a life changing condition.
"I am writing to all the schools in the area, so that I can go and speak to young people about the condition, and making sure they are taking precautions.
"The people around me in the beds in intensive care are not here to warn you, I am. Things needs to change."
Mrs MacDougall is keen to set up a support group for people with Long Covid and asks for anyone interested to contact her via Facebook.
A UK Government health and social care spokesman said: "Long Covid can have a lasting and debilitating impact on the lives of those affected.
"Studies like this help us to rapidly build our understanding of the impact of the condition and we are using these findings and other new research to develop support and treatments.
"We are learning more about long Covid all the time and have made £50 million of research funding available to support innovative projects, with clinics established across the country to help improve the treatment available."
READ: A warning that Covid is still around
