Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable (a) access to long covid services, (b) care outcomes and (c) patient experience for people with long covid.

Since April 2024, the commissioning of post-COVID, or long COVID, services have been the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), following the closure of the national post-COVID programme.

ICBs are responsible for commissioning specialist services for long COVID that meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding. In the commissioning of services, commissioners should take account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, commissioning guidance, and other best practice.

NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services, which sets out the commissioning, service requirements, and oversight of post-COVID services by ICBs in England for adults, and children and young people. It outlines the elements that post-COVID services should include and the principles of care for long COVID. The guidance also sets out that a proportion of long COVID services funding should be allocated to tackling health inequalities. The commissioning guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-guidance-for-post-covid-services-for-adults-children-and-young-people/