West Lothian man forced to postpone dream wedding due to long covid struggle

Published date14 June 2022
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
Greig Brown, 44, from Armadale, has not been able to return to his job at St John's Hospital in Livingston due to prolonged symptoms such as breathing difficulties and memory loss

He had been planning to marry his partner, Sam, but the couple have used up their savings while Greig has been off sick.

The 44-year-old explained: "This is my reality. I am so breathless and exhausted every day that simply getting downstairs and settled on the couch wipes me out.

"I used to walk miles every day around the hospital, carrying tools and anything else I needed. Now I can't even walk to the kitchen without needing to sit down.

"My GPs kept telling me long COVID is all new to them, too, and they don't know how to treat it.

"I feel as if people like me have fallen through the cracks."

NHS Lothian, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and Pogo Digital Healthcare have jointly launched an online app called My Tailored Talks as a pilot in the region.

Around 70 patients and 11 GPs are involved and doctors will now be able to refer patients to CHSS long COVID services directly.

The service has been called "groundbreaking" and will bring services together for the first time.

GPs and other healthcare staff will be able to automatically refer patients to long COVID support services and provide information to patients.

Greig continued: "I hope having a system in place like this NHS Lothian pilot that lets doctors refer patients directly to the CHSS support service can make a real difference to everyone living with long COVID symptoms."

The team now wants partners across Scotland to get involved to roll out the project beyond Lothian.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has given his backing to the project and said the Scottish Government has pledged £3 million in funding to support NHS boards provide support to...

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