With impressive stories from Lieke and Joris
On Wednesday 24 November, Wieke Paulusma, Member of Parliament for D'66, and policy officer Christiaan Ponsen paid a digital working visit to C-support. Two strong patients, Lieke and Joris, together brought the problem in its full breadth into the spotlight. That affected everyone, but especially Wieke Paulusma, herself also a Long Covid patient.
Joris and Lieke sketched a picture of the medical questions they are struggling with, the loneliness of the search, the lack of answers from professionals, the waiting lists, the counterproductive treatments when too much demand is made on your physical burden, the (threatened) loss of work, lack of understanding from the insurance doctor. In short, recognizable issues, fitting with the drastic consequences of Long Covid.
Broader perspective
Led by Arianne van den Berg, primary process manager at C-support, the conversation was then held with medical advisor Alfons Olde Loohuis and aftercare advisor Rianne Hermanns. They placed the patient stories in a broader perspective and indicated that they found them very recognizable. They asked the attention of national politics for the research that is urgently needed into Long Covid, which also includes attention for medical interventions. And for the time pressure that workers are under: does the system of 1e in 2. e track sufficient space for repair?
Wieke Paulusma and Christiaan Ponsen were impressed by the stories and explicitly included the points of attention for the political agenda of The Hague.
Also read the stories of Joris en Lieke.
