A new clinic for patients experiencing long COVID-19 symptoms has opened at Bentley Health Service.
The clinic – led by a senior physiotherapist – is available to people living in the East Metropolitan Health Service catchment area who meet the referral criteria.
The pilot program is for people who are:
- over 16 years of age;
- have had a COVID diagnosis that has been confirmed by a RAT or PCR test;
- are at least 12 weeks post diagnosis;
- are experiencing significant, ongoing but non-urgent symptoms; and
- have objective physical findings which have failed to resolve with primary care and that cannot be attributed to other obvious causes or cognitive/psychological issues.
Attendance at the clinic is by GP referral and will be trialled for six months.
The clinic will offer patients further assessment and management of their symptoms.
As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
“This pilot program is for people experiencing long COVID-19 symptoms, who are in the East Metropolitan Health Service catchment area.
“The trial clinic will be led by a senior physiotherapist who will see patients over 16 years of age who are experiencing ongoing symptoms more than 12 weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
“Patients must be referred by their GP and have been screened to rule out other underlying conditions.
“We continue to monitor long COVID-19 in the community and other clinics may be established in future – if needed – and should the trial prove successful.”
