Chamber and committees

I am conscious of time, and John Mason wants to come in. In fairness, we can go up to 11 o’clock.

Thank you very much. That has been really helpful. Claire, can you tell us about the same issues in Wales?

Thank you. We move to questions from Murdo Fraser.

Thank you—that is helpful. I will bring in David Strain, but first I have a question for Dr Heightman. With referrals in England, do doctors diagnose someone with long Covid and refer them with an official diagnosis on their medical record, or is there self-referral for long Covid as well?

Good morning and welcome to the fifth meeting of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee in 2023. We have apologies from Jim Fairlie, so I welcome Stuart McMillan as a substitute and invite him to declare any relevant interests.

I thank the witnesses for giving us their time. If they would like to raise any further evidence with the committee, they can do so in writing. The clerks would be happy to liaise with them about how to do that.

The committee’s next meeting will be on 9 March, when we will continue our long Covid inquiry by considering study and research.

That concludes the public part of our meeting.

I will cover the issue of long Covid in kids. The committee had an informal session with family members of children suffering from long Covid; some of those children have not been to school in years. It was quite harrowing to hear their stories. Family members felt that there was a lack of support and diagnosis for children suffering from long Covid.

Is there sufficient knowledge and understanding among health professionals in relation to long Covid in children? Does that impact on diagnosis of long Covid in children? Manira, would you like to come in?

I thank the witnesses for their time this morning. If witnesses would like to raise any further evidence with the committee, they can do so in writing, and the clerks will be happy to liaise with them on how to do that.

The committee’s next meeting will be on 2 March, when we will continue our long Covid inquiry by looking into comparative approaches.

That concludes the public part of our meeting. We will now move into private session.

That is helpful. What training on long Covid is available for healthcare professionals? How can healthcare professionals, including GPs, be encouraged to undertake training on long Covid?

I am sorry, Mr Fairlie, but we are at 20 past 10, so I will have to stop the questioning there.

I apologise that we have run over time. I thank the witnesses for their evidence and giving us their time. If they would like to raise any further points with the committee, they can do so in writing to the clerks. We will be happy to liaise with the witnesses about how to do that.

I will briefly suspend the meeting to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

10:24 On resuming—