Click to view Emergency Department (A&E) waiting times
115 People
Number of people in A&E department
1:22 Hours
Average wait to be seen by a clinician
2:45 Hours
Average time in the department

Contact details

0118 322 8261

Address

Level 2, South Block
Royal Berkshire Hospital
Craven Road
Reading
Berkshire RG1 5AN

Pain Management

Long COVID Clinic

The Berkshire Long Covid Integrated Service (BLIS) supports patients who are continuing to suffer from post-COVID syndrome (Long Covid).

Patients referred to the service receive a full assessment of their physical and mental health with blood tests and any further investigations, and then are offered a management plan or appropriate referral to other specialties as required.

What is Long COVID?

The most common symptoms have been pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations and raised heart rate, persisting high temperature, sore throat, altered smell, dizziness, loss of appetite, new psychological issues like anxiety and depression, confusion, memory problems (commonly called brain fog) along with tummy symptoms have all known to be present.

When these signs and symptoms are present for more than 12 weeks after the acute episode, we are calling them Long Covid. These symptoms can often overlap and have been known to change overtime and can affect many systems within the body.

How to be referred

The service is open to any patients (paediatric or adult) who may have Long covid and have been struggling with symptoms for more than 12 weeks. If you think you may be suffering from the symptoms of Long Covid as detailed above, then in order to be referred to this service, your GP will have to fill out an electronic referral form following which you will be sent a questionnaire from the BLIS.

Once you have filled the questionnaire out and returned it via smartphone app/ email or post, you will be then sent for any further investigations as needed and then invited to have a face to face assessment with the team.