Latest news with #SammieMcFarland
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Long Covid campaigner co-authors ground-breaking international study
A LONG Covid campaigner has co-authored a new study highlighting the seriousness of the condition. Sammie McFarland, from Weymouth, said she was 'honoured' to contribute to a landmark international study which confirms the condition is debilitating, and the global response must be drastically scaled up. The Delphi study, involving more than 150 experts across medicine, research, and patient advocacy, represents a first-of-its-kind consensus on the priorities, gaps, and urgent needs surrounding Long Covid. It comes after the news that Covid services throughout England - including Dorset - are being scrapped. Mrs McFarland, has been at the forefront of campaigning to raise awareness of the condition, that she and her daughter live with, and set up the Long Covid Kids charity to support children living with the condition. She said: "As a Dorset resident and founder of Long Covid Kids, I was honoured to contribute to this newly published international consensus on Long Covid. "Bringing together perspectives from over 150 experts across 28 countries including clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. "This study represents a significant step forward in how we understand and respond to this complex condition. READ: Dorset Long Covid campaigner backs NHS doctors plan to sue "Long Covid affects hundreds of millions of people around the world, including many children and young people. Yet too often, it remains under-recognised and under-resourced. "Through this work, we reached consensus on nearly 190 recommendations to guide better diagnosis, treatment, research, and support." Mrs McFarland is a vocal advocate of children suffering with the debilitating condition and through her charity has sought to improve the support network for children and their families. She said that new study concluded that the impact of Covid-19 on children 'must be a research priority' from understanding the long-term health effects to supporting learning, development, and mental wellbeing. READ: Weymouth woman's fight against long Covid amid inquiry She added: "This consensus is more than a scientific document. It's a foundation for action to improve care, guide policy, and provide the clarity that so many families have been waiting for. "Here in Dorset and across the UK, children and families affected by Long Covid deserve to be seen, heard, and supported - as with any significant childhood disease.' The study identified ten critical areas requiring immediate action. This includes educating frontline providers to recognize Long COVID as a complex, multi-system condition involving neurological, immune, and organ dysfunction READ: Weymouth mother develops resource for kids with long Covid It also says that a universal definition for the condition should be created and that the condition should not just be recognised as 'tiredness' but includes serious complications such as immune dysregulation, neurological injury, and organ damage. The study also concludes that Long Covid is an invisible disability and that current diagnostics fall short due to lab limitations, with advanced diagnostics needed as it is not one disease, but a cluster of overlapping conditions. Experts also emphasized the need for long-term studies on how SARS-CoV-2 affects developing immune systems, brains, and hormonal balance as children are as much at risk to the condition. READ: Weymouth Long Covid campaigner hits out at clinic closures Clean indoor air and reducing airborne transmission of the virus through improved ventilation and air purification - particularly in schools and workplaces - is also essential for public health infrastructure, it concludes. Finally experts came to the consensus that Long Covid requires coordinated international funding and that it is not just a medical issue but a socioeconomic one and warns that continued inaction is a policy failure with long-term consequences.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Long Covid campaigners send open letter to Health Secretary
More than 13,000 people have signed a petition calling for urgent investment in Long Covid and chronic fatigue services - highlighting the need to fund research that leads to effective treatments. The petition has been delivered alongside an open letter signed by organisations, charities, and clinicians - including Dorset-based charity Long Covid Kids (LCK) - to Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP and Public Health Minister Ashley Dalton MP, READ: Weymouth Long Covid campaigner hits out at clinic closures The letter urges the government to take immediate action, including halting further clinic closures and highlights growing concerns around underfunding, lack of training for healthcare professionals, and the continued unmet health needs of children and adults living with Long Covid, M.E., PoTS, and other related conditions. Campaigners also want to see a long-term strategy to fund biomedical research, treatment, and monitor the wider impact of Long Covid and M.E., informed by lived experience. READ: Funding for Dorset-based Long Covid services to be cut Their call comes as the UK reflects on the five-year anniversary of the first national Covid-19 lockdown and the axing of Long Covid services - including the Dorset service - which closes at the end of June. A new report by LCK also revealed alarming gaps in Long Covid care, with the charity's founder, Sammie McFarland, from Weymouth, calling for the closures to clinics to 'stop immediately'. Sammie set up LCK in 2020 after she and her daughter Kitty developed Long Covid. She said: 'Long Covid is not going away, and neither are the children and adults who live with its effects - we need to monitor the wider impact. 'We're calling for urgent action to stop clinic closures, invest in biomedical research, and train healthcare professionals. Our young people are saying loud and clear: we want to be seen, heard, and supported.' Alongside the petition and open letter to government officials, children and young people affected by Long Covid have released a powerful video titled 'Don't Shut the Door on Us, which is now live across X, Instagram, and YouTube. READ: Weymouth mother develops resource for kids with long Covid In the short film, young people hold up hand-written signs describing the reality of living with the condition before dropping them to the floor - a quiet but striking call for recognition, care, and action. Molly, 16, who lives in Weymouth says she feels 'abandoned and hidden from view' after the announcement of the closure of the Dorset Long Covid service. She said: "I'm in my GCSE year, but I can't even go to school. I've lost the ability to do the things normal teenagers do, and there's no real support or treatment. "Thousands of children like me are suffering in silence - we need research, we need help, and we need to be seen." Kitty McFarland, 19, has been living with Long Covid since 2020 (Image: Sammie McFarland) Sammie's daughter, Kitty, who now needs to use a wheelchair due to the symptoms brought on by Long Covid expressed her gratitude for LCK and how important the charity is, especially now NHS services are closing. She said: "If long covid kids didn't exist, doctors would still believe only adults could get long covid, we are all incredibly grateful that the charity was created to educated others as no one else believed us."
