Patients travelling interstate for long Covid treatment

Long Covid patients are missing out on the care they desperately need with doctors calling for urgent Medicare reform.

Long Covid patients are driving hours – or even travelling interstate – for treatment as doctors warn clinics cannot keep up with demand and patients urgently need more support.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has revealed people are struggling to access treatment and urged the Federal Government to reform Medicare, which they say discourages GPs from taking on long Covid patients.

Geelong Covid clinic Dr Bernard Shiu said he saw people from across Victoria, and even New South Wales.

“There are patients that drive for three and a half hours,” he said.

“Our standard appointment is one hour to start with.

“The (Medicare) rebate is very minimal … so the patient will have a pretty large gap out of pocket.”

Long Covid is generally defined as post-Covid symptoms that persist for three months after the infection.

Many Australians are struggling with long Covid. Picture: David Crosling

RACGP president Dr Nicole Higgins said these range from “fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety and depression, chest pain, “brain fog” and changes to taste and smell”, with people across Australia suffering.

“Patients are struggling to access care because there aren’t enough specialist long COVID clinics, especially in rural and remote areas,” she said.

“Australia needs a mix of appropriately funded and resourced practices and dedicated long COVID clinics, as well as support for patients to access allied health care.

She called for more investment in GP-focused long Covid research and an increase to the Medicare rebate for longer appointments, saying the current price was a disincentive to treat complex, time-intensive conditions.

“People across the country are missing out on the care they need because Medicare does not adequately support patients with long COVID,” she said.

Federal health minister Mark Butler said the Albanese government was funding research into Covid’s long-term impacts and a recent parliamentary committee paper had “highlighted the important role” of primary care in long Covid treatment.

“It is clear we need to develop a focused national response to the phenomenon of long COVID – this work is being led by the Department of Health,” he said.

Originally published as Patients travelling interstate for long Covid treatment