Long COVID patients heading to GPs as public clinics close down
GPs say that some patients with long COVID will be unable to afford care unless there is extra funding.
GPs have the skills to helm long COVID treatment in Australia but need financial support, a leading GP has told the WONCA World Conference 2023 in Sydney.
Dr Bernard Shiu says the Geelong Long COVID Clinic, which he founded, has treated around 300 patients since May 2022.
But numbers have been spiking since public clinics in Victoria shut down, such as the ReCOVery clinic at Austin Health, which closed at the end of last year.
“This care needs to be given in primary care,” he told AusDoc at the conference.
