Patients are now waiting an average of 15 weeks to access long Covid clinics in hospitals across the country, local TD Denis Naughten has said.
The Roscommon-Galway TD said the longest wait is 35 weeks for patients trying to access the clinic at Tallaght Hospital.
Symptoms of long Covid include fatigue and brain fog, which are experienced at least three months after the initial infection for significant periods of time.
Some patients have been experiencing symptoms of long Covid for over three years.
The HSE has been operating a number of clinics for 2,740 patients referred during 2022 who have failed to recover from Covid.
Deputy Naughten said that it is important to note that referrals to these clinics only take place when the symptoms associated with long Covid persist for at least 12 weeks and GPs have excluded all other potential causes of such symptoms.
“In practical terms this means that patients can wait for up to a year to see a specialist at some of the long Covid centres being established across the country, with a particular problem in the Dublin region where there is an average 28-week wait in St Vincent’s and 20 week wait at James Connolly Hospital,” he said.
Deputy Naughten said that it is clear that despite the increase in the number of long Covid clinics, more patients are being referred for specialist management of their condition as a result of chronic and ongoing illness.
He said thousands more suffering are in silence with more moderate symptoms.
