Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 25 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the 2024 reports by (a) the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), Accessing Long Covid services in Scotland and (b) Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, One in Five on long covid.
We welcome the research undertaken by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to provide insight in to the experiences of people impacted by long COVID. Scottish Government Officials met with both organisations at the time of publication to discuss the methodology and findings.
The reports highlight a range of themes, with a common focus on understanding of healthcare professionals, access to information and support for people presenting to primary care, and access to specialist services.
Since the research was undertaken, NHS National Services Scotland’s National Strategic Network for long COVID has supported the delivery of online education sessions for healthcare staff, including on the assessment of patients with long COVID. The Network has also developed information for NHS boards on the assessment of patients with suspected long COVID in general practice.
The 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME, Chronic Fatigue, and other similar conditions. We wrote to NHS board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that this funding will now be made available on a recurring basis. This commitment provides the longer term assurance necessary to enable boards to plan on a sustainable basis, and support the recruitment and retention of the skilled members of staff required for the delivery of services.
NHS boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding will be allocated in full on a recurring basis. From the financial year 2026-27 onwards NHS boards will receive the £4.5 million resource annually.
In 2025-26 the £4.5 million funding is being provided in addition to remaining resource of approximately £3 million from the £10 million long COVID Support Fund (established 2022). The £10 million fund will be fully disbursed by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.