Improving knowledge in mental health practitioners in the clinical management of long COVID

It is estimated that 1 in 5 people with the COVID-19 virus will continue to experience post initial infection and go onto a diagnosis of Long COVID/Post COVID syndrome therefore Long COVID education and training is vital for all healthcare professionals.

A new education session has been developed for mental health nurses and practitioners to cater to their unique working environment and recognise the complex needs of service users. This new session will better equip mental health nurses and practitioners to support those suffering from the impact of Long COVID/Post COVID syndrome and will include an Introduction to Long COVID, Post-COVID Syndrome and Living with Long COVID (complimenting existing Long COVID sessions) in the context of mental health. It will also explore options and interventions available to the mental health nurse and other mental health colleagues in supporting patients and their families.

The training programme has been informed by multiple healthcare professionals including mental health nurses and other mental health practitioners., It aims to improve knowledge in the clinical management of long COVID by providing good quality, accessible and up-to-date training resources, which cover a spectrum of patient needs.

This new session; titled Working with Long Covid in people with severe mental illness, will sit within the existing Post COVID services programme. The session takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and can be completed at your own pace. Find out more details about this new module and the others on the Post Covid Services webpage.

The full range of sessions in the programme are:

1. Introduction to post COVID care
2. The first assessment of a patient with suspected post COVID-19 syndrome
3. The treatable traits approach and differential diagnoses
4. Post COVID rehabilitation: physical and mental health
5. Rehabilitation, digital services and discharge
6. Working as an integrated pathway
7. Delivering personalised care in post COVID services
8. Working with Long Covid in people with severe mental illness