Long Covid patients to see GP in wake of St Vincent Hospital’s lengthy wait times

Patients suffering long Covid are now being treated in a Sutherland doctor’s practice rather than having to wait months to get an appointment at St Vincent’s Hospital. Find out what are the symptoms and how to treat them.

UPDATE: Anyone can book into Shire Family Medical's Long Covid Clinic in Sutherland for targeted care of symptoms from November 17. The clinic was previously only open for existing patients.

A Kirrawee frontline worker knows the reality of long Covid all too well, sharing her experience of the “frustrating and draining effects” on her health in the wake of a months-long wait to get specialist care.

But one doctor based at a Sutherland GP practice is on a mission to try and decrease those wait times and provide treatment to patients battling ongoing symptoms.

The waiting list for St Vincent’s Hospital’s long Covid clinic, which opened in March, has blown out to July next year for patients wanting a first appointment.

Kim Laird, 64, who works in a pathology clinic, first contracted Covid in early January this year, but more than eight months later, she still suffers symptoms.

“My health has been quite poor,” she said. “I’ve had terrible breathlessness and was diagnosed with long Covid last week.

Kirrawee pathology worker Kim Laird first contracted Covid in early January this year and is still suffering symptoms including breathlessness, brain fog and fatigue. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

“The brain fog is very frustrating and I get cranky. The breathlessness is so bad it is draining and I become very tired.

“I think of what I want to say but the words just don’t come out. Words I would normally know how to spell, I can’t.

“I stumble over words and get embarrassed talking to people I don’t know. My memory has also become really bad and my asthma has been a lot worse.”

Ms Laird said she struggles to walk her dog up hills and suffers from tiredness, with Covid potentially exacerbating her other medical condition which causes chronic fatigue.

Shire Family Medical’s Dr James Zhang has established a long Covid clinic in the practice to help patients after he worked at St Vincent Hospital long Covid clinic. He wants GPs to manage patients to relieve the burden on hospitals. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

Ms Laird is just one of the patients Dr James Zhang is caring for as part of the new long Covid clinic established at Shire Family Medical practice in Sutherland.

“I am aiming to simulate the work done at St Vincent’s Hospital’s long Covid clinic but in a GP context,” he said.

“The clinic will have a GP who will sit down, listen and acknowledge that a patient’s symptoms are genuinely affecting them and will help them in the recovery journey through multidisciplinary care.

“My hope is that all GPs with appropriate resourcing and education from specialists can find the time and compassion to upskill in this area because we will have a growing epidemic of people with long Covid symptoms.”

Ms Laird booked in to see Dr Zhang last week and he advised her to do a spirometry lung test, see her respiratory clinician, psychologist, normal GP and to do chest X-rays and blood tests.

Dr Zhang believes the program at the practice would be the first long Covid clinic outside a hospital.

The practice is trialling the clinic for their existing patients with the aim to open it up to the wider community soon.

He said he wanted to set a model for GPs everywhere so they could take on long Covid patients in their practices, meaning people don’t have to wait a year to go to St Vincent’s clinic and the burden will be taken off hospital emergency departments.

The long Covid clinic at St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst. Picture: Ryan Osland

In September last year, Dr Zhang was involved in St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney virtual Covid unit, where he led a team of nurses to look after several thousand vulnerable patients through a call centre.

The World Health Organisation describes long Covid as when someone experiences various symptoms for two months, and those have occurred for at least three months since infection.

Dr Zhang said research suggested anyone was at risk of getting long Covid, regardless if they had pre-existing medical conditions, noting vaccination saw a 15 to 50 per cent reduction.

“We see the numbers of people getting long Covid to be anywhere between one in 20 to one in five or 10 depending on the risk factors,” Dr Zhang said.

The common symptoms include body aches, breathlessness, brain fog which affects memory, concentration and ability to work, mental health and fatigue.

The long Covid clinic at St Vincent's Hospital Darlinghurst. Picture: Ryan Osland

Loss of taste and smell, pre-existing heart conditions or diabetes may become exacerbated, and diet, appetite and bowels can be affected.

Dr Zhang said there was no “one size fits all” treatment for long Covid sufferers.

“Patients need to know they are being heard, their symptoms are real, and investigations need to be done to rule out more sinister causes,” he said.

“Then there needs to be a tailored program from GPs or a team that looks after patients with a multidisciplinary approach.”

Dr Zhang could recommend doing chest X-rays and seeing a respiratory physician to investigate if medications, puffers or rehabilitation programs would be beneficial for breathlessness.

A patient’s diabetes and heart health would need to be checked, they could see a psychologist for mental health treatment and a dietitian for loss of appetite.

Likewise, an exercise physiologist can help with fatigue and returning to exercise.

Dr Zhang said there were standardised tools to assess the severity of symptoms and the impact they had, which the clinic would adopt with its own patients to be done on the first consultation then after six months to check progress.