Long Covid sufferers have blasted RTE for a show they claim trivialised their condition.
The national broadcaster received a flood of complaints after an episode of How Long Will I Live? which aired on Tuesday. It showed Dr Phil Kieran advising an exercise programme to patient Steve Barret to help with his recovery post Covid-19.
But Miriam Cullen, a member of advocacy group Long Covid Ireland from Walkinstown in Dublin, hit out at the show – and its presenter. She fumed: “I think the programme has considerably set back the work LCI has done to change the opinion of negativity people have when looking at long Covid sufferers.
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“I was horrified...” Miriam, 62, first shared her story with this newspaper describing how long Covid has robbed her of her life and left her unable to work.
She needs a ventilator to help her breathe and has been diagnosed with a brain disorder. Miriam said advising a graded exercise programme is “contradictory to the advice given for the treatment of long Covid by the World Health Organisation.
She added: “I am suffering ongoing physical and neurological health issues since contracting Covid in March 2020.
“This week I have a wheelchair being delivered in the hope it gives me some sort of a life outside my four walls. There are some days I can’t even get out of bed.”
John Fox, 49, who attends a long Covid clinic in Cork, also wrote to RTE to complain after Tuesday’s programme aired. He said: “I’ve been suffering from long Covid for 21 months and I can assure you it will take more than a bit of exercise to cure.
“I have headache, brain fog, tinnitus, and terrible pains all over my body. I do walk as much as I can but if I do not pace myself I will suffer a relapse.
“Come live in my shoes for a week. Thanks for all the damage you have done to people trying to live their lives with this terrible illness.”
A spokeswoman for RTE said it received “no formal complaints” but there were a number of emails with “negative feedback”. She added: “RTE has already replied to these emailers.
“This programme is part of a series, presented by Dr Phil, which provides contributors a six-week health plan aimed at improving their life expectancy. It was clear from the opening and throughout the programme that the plan devised was specific to Steve and his personal circumstances.
“There was never a suggestion that the plan that Dr Phil devised for Steve was suitable for others.”
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