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Taranaki healthcare staff volunteer to help colleagues with Long Covid - because there are no nationally coordinated Long Covid resources to help patients.
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rnz.co.nz/news/national/…
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rnz.co.nz/news/national/…
The clinic has no funding and relies on physios, occupational therapists and nurses volunteering to care for staff with the disease.
This is what #LongCovid looks like. Debilitating symptoms and limited support.
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This is what #LongCovid looks like. Debilitating symptoms and limited support.
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Rebecca, a nurse at Taranaki Hospital, said Long Covid made her so forgetful she thought she had early-onset Alzheimer's.
She would get in the car and forget where she was going, or leave appliances on for hours.
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She would get in the car and forget where she was going, or leave appliances on for hours.
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Long Covid made Rebecca, a normally healthy person, exhausted by a persistent cough and uncontrollably emotional.
"I was walking around nearly incontinent at times. I'd beaten up my pelvic floor muscles with all the coughing. Then the coughing makes you tired and fatigued."
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"I was walking around nearly incontinent at times. I'd beaten up my pelvic floor muscles with all the coughing. Then the coughing makes you tired and fatigued."
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Thank you Rebecca for sharing your story so openly. Your courage shines a light on an overlooked issue. Long Covid is a serious health concern that has been swept under the rug.
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"People go, 'Pffft, Long Covid. I did Covid it was easy, it was no problem. It's harder having a cold'.
It was actually quite nice having someone come along and say, 'Yes, what you have is genuine'."
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It was actually quite nice having someone come along and say, 'Yes, what you have is genuine'."
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As a staff member, Rebecca was referred to Taranaki Hospital's free Long Covid clinic. It was not until she started receiving care that her symptoms improved and she could return to work full-time.
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Fy Dunford, a cardio respiratory physio, saw a need for healthcare workers to receive Long Covid support early on in the pandemic.
Dunford said the volunteered time of hospital physios, OTs, speech therapists, social workers & dietitians had helped more than 20 staff members.
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Dunford said the volunteered time of hospital physios, OTs, speech therapists, social workers & dietitians had helped more than 20 staff members.
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Mel, another Taranaki Hospital worker, met the Long Covid team when the disease had her feeling desperate.
"I can remember being told that when you've got children, you're going to be the tiredest you've ever been in your life - and that was true up until I got this."
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"I can remember being told that when you've got children, you're going to be the tiredest you've ever been in your life - and that was true up until I got this."
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Dunford said with no government funding, the clinic cannot be expanded to the public.
⚠️Te Whatu Ora has not been able to answer why it has not funded a national coordinated response to Long Covid.
This has been a known issue for 3+ years. @minhealthnz needs to step up.
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⚠️Te Whatu Ora has not been able to answer why it has not funded a national coordinated response to Long Covid.
This has been a known issue for 3+ years. @minhealthnz needs to step up.
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Dunford said people with Long Covid had been left to fend for themselves.
"These are members of our workforce, carers of children, and people that are going to have a high impact on ongoing spend in the future, so we have to be attentive to this health need."
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"These are members of our workforce, carers of children, and people that are going to have a high impact on ongoing spend in the future, so we have to be attentive to this health need."
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@threadreaderapp please unroll
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