On Tuesday 15 June, Vilans organised the webinar 'Long-term COVID complaints, Working together on recovery at home' in collaboration with C-support. During this webinar, the central question was how long COVID patients can be helped well, thought from different disciplines.
Watch the webinar again:
Long-term complaints
COVID-19 can cause persistent symptoms long after infection. About one in ten people who have had COVID-19 symptoms suffer from persistent symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and loss of condition. But also from headaches, muscle pain, loss of smell and taste and psychosocial complaints. It is then not possible to fully pick up the thread of life again after weeks or months.
Attention, time and rest
During the webinar, various experts spoke, such as Corry van Noort-Meesters, client manager Wmo at the municipality of Meierijstad, Petra Feenstra, ambassador for the district nurse and working at Evean, and Marloes Kist, POH GGZ and working at C-support. Attention, time and rest are crucial when it comes to helping long COVID patients, says Feenstra, who saw the impact of COVID-19 up close: 'Many patients have difficulty asking for help. They think: I can still do this. It is important to respect that emotion. Only with attention, time and rest can you really help these people.'
Cross-domain collaboration necessary
Because long COVID patients often have a variety of complaints, cross-domain collaboration is necessary. In practice, this proves difficult. Kist: 'The intention to collaborate is there, but due to lack of time, it often does not happen, or not enough. Moreover, I think that there is still a lot of gain to be made between some domains. For example, I notice in my practice that we could collaborate much better with community nursing.'
Double webinar
This webinar is part of a diptych. Part two will take place on 28 September 2021. Three other disciplines will speak: a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and a general practitioner. You can already register for this webinar register here.
