Implementation Lead post for long Covid model was not filled

The position of Implementation Lead for the Long Covid Model of Care was not filled, this newspaper can reveal.

A HSE spokesperson told the Medical Independent “the role as advertised wasn’t filled”. A job specification document in August 2021 described the position as a temporary assignment on a 12-month contract.

According to the HSE: “Implementation is being supported by the Office of the Chief Clinical Officer with the Lead for Integrated Care leading on this. The Lead for Integrated Care is supported by the Clinical Leads.” 

The job specification described the implementation of the model of care as “a key priority for the board and management of the HSE”.

In March, the HSE said it was “difficult to provide precise timelines” as to when long Covid clinics on hospital sites would become fully operational.

As of September, five of the seven planned long Covid clinics are operational – these are located at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin; Beaumont Hospital, Dublin; Tallaght University Hospital (TUH); St James’s Hospital, Dublin; and University Hospital Galway (UHG). Additionally, four of the planned eight post-acute Covid clinics are operational in UHG; Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown; TUH; and St James’s. 

The clinics were established “in response to local need”, according to the HSE’s spokesperson. “Sites that do not have dedicated post-acute or long Covid clinics are treating patients through existing respiratory and infectious disease clinics.”