A teenager who missed a year of school due to long Covid has returned to full-time education after receiving treatment at the NHS's first "post-Covid service".
Molly Potts, 14, from Woking, caught the virus in September 2021 and suffered from severe dizziness and fatigue. She spent eight weeks in bed and was unable to attend school.
After her initial symptoms did not improve, Molly was referred to the Post-Covid service at Evelina London Children’s Hospital in March 2022. In September, she was able to return to school full-time after a year of disruption and is now retaking Year 9.
The service, launched in October last year, provides treatment to children and young people across London and South East England suffering with ongoing symptoms of long Covid. An estimated 2.3 million people in Britain were living with the condition at the end of September, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Molly's mum Debbie Potts said: "Molly was extremely tired and unable to get out of bed, which was very unlike her as she was an active teenager who enjoys sport... She used to love taking part in sports such as paddle boarding, but she was suddenly unable to even walk to the bottom of the garden unaided.”
The hospital gave Molly a tailored physical activity programme to help build her strength back up, support with breathing exercises and personalised advice on sleep and diet. She also received psychological support on how to frame her illness and recovery.
"The team encouraged her to take charge of her own recovery, and worked on pacing herself. This was really helpful as she went away and created a schedule to minimise her risk of relapse by doing too much too soon," Ms Potts added.
Dr Ben Baig, consultant liaison child and adolescent psychiatrist and co-lead of the Post-COVID service at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, said: “Long COVID is a relatively new condition, and we’re still learning how it affects young people in many different ways. It’s really rewarding to see Molly being able to return to school and her normal activities, thanks to the help of the many different professionals that make up our team.”
