Dedicated Long Covid service in Swindon and Wiltshire could be closed down
The number of referrals to the service has declined
A service that has supported sufferers of Long Covid in Swindon and Wiltshire could be closed down as the number of referrals declines.
A meeting of Wiltshire Council’s health select committee heard that health bosses want to wrap the service into the Healthy Futures Programme, which supports patients with other chronic conditions.
The most common symptoms of Long Covid include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, difficulties with concentration and memory, joint pain, and aching muscles.
The number of people living with Long Covid is uncertain. March 2023 figures from the Office of National Statistics estimated that 1.9 million people in the UK – 2.9 per cent of the population – were experiencing self-reported Long Covid symptoms.
Since May 2020 – just four months after the first confirmed UK cases and before the end of the pandemic’s first lockdown – the Long Covid service has been provided by Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Integrated Care Board.
From launch until August 2022, the service received 2,111 referrals – an average of 78 a month.
During 2022/2023, the service received a total of 810 referrals, averaging a referral rate of 67.5 per month, with actual referrals falling from a peak of 93 in November 2022, down to 33 in August 2023.
And the committee heard that referrals averaged 20 a month in 2025 and stood at 12 a month in the first two months of 2026.
The Integrated Care Board told councillors that it was consulting on four options, which ranged from continuing the standalone service to closing the service and meeting patient needs through existing community services.
Its preferred option was supporting Long Covid sufferers through the Healthy Futures Programme and group support sessions.
Caroline Holmes, from the Integrated Care Board, told members: “The demand for Long Covid care has fallen significantly over the past few years.
“We’ve been looking at the best way to ensure that patients who have Long Covid still receive a service that meets their needs, that gives them the support that they need, the access to different professionals, but in a way that makes best use of our resources as well.”
Cllr Clare Cape, cabinet member for public health and coordination with the NHS, welcomed the consultation.
“If you are experiencing this kind of health challenge it can be quite anxiety-provoking to perceive that a service is going to change,” she said.
“What we have heard today has given me confidence.”