AN investment of £20 million has been announced in 15 research studies to find ways to diagnose, treat and support those suffering from long Covid.
The Department of Health and Social Care on Sunday (18) said the £19.6m will find ways to benefit sufferers and explore new treatments.
Research shows that up to one in three people diagnosed with Covid continues to experience chronic symptoms for months after their initial diagnosis.
The research will be backed by government funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Researchers will focus on understanding the condition, evaluating the outcome of different care services, identifying treatments, rehabilitation, recovery and also improving home monitoring and self-management of symptoms.
Calling the new programme “life-changing” for sufferers, health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid said long Covid can have serious and debilitating long term effects for thousands of people across the UK which can make “daily life extremely challenging”.
“It will build on our existing support with over 80 long Covid assessment services open across England as part of a £100m expansion of care for those suffering from the condition and over £50m invested in research to better understand the lasting effects of this condition,” Javid said.
Among the projects will be the largest long Covid trial to date, recruiting more than 4,500 people with the condition to test the effectiveness of existing drugs on treating the lasting symptoms.
Professor Nick Lemoine, chair of NIHR’s long Covid funding committee and medical director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN), said: “This package of research will provide much-needed hope to people with long-term health problems after Covid-19, accelerating the development of new ways to diagnose and treat long Covid, as well as how to configure healthcare services to provide the absolute best care."
"Together with our earlier round of funding, NIHR has invested millions into research covering the full gamut of causes, mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of long Covid," Prof Lemoine said.
Clifford had previously denied killing Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads guilty to crossbow murders of BBC presenter’s family
A 26-YEAR-OLD man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to murdering two daughters of a BBC sports commentator and stabbing to death their mother in a crossbow attack.
Kyle Clifford had previously denied killing Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28.
However, appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court in eastern England, Clifford changed his pleas.
The court heard that Clifford tied up Louise Hunt, his former partner, binding her arms and ankles with duct tape before shooting her in the chest with a crossbow at the family home last July.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons. However, Clifford denied raping Louise.
The murders took place at the family home in the commuter town of Bushey, near Watford, northwest of London.
Clifford was arrested in July following a manhunt after the bodies of the three women were discovered.
(With inputs from AFP)