Name: Long Covid 'could cost UK around £2,500,000,000 a year'
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Long Covid 'could cost UK around £2,500,000,000 a year'

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The MP leading an investigation into coronavirus fears long Covid could cost the UK around £2.5 billion a year.&nbsp;Layla Moran believes the emerging crisis is comparable to the impact rheumatoid arthritis has on the health service, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to be dealing with the condition for months.&nbsp;The ONS says around one in ten people who test positive will go on to develop long Covid, a catch all term to describe a host of ongoing symptoms in coronavirus patients. More than 1.7 million Covid-19 infections have been reported since Christmas Day in the UK.&nbsp;Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, Ms Moran – who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on coronavirus, said: ‘The amount of money that we are expecting to spend long term on long Covid could be similar to rheumatoid arthritis. How many people know someone with rheumatoid arthritis? It is going to be higher for long Covid.’Around 400,000 people are currently battling the second most common form of arthritis in the UK, according to the NHS, while the same number are now believed to have long Covid – with that figure only expected to rise.Arthritis Action say the on rheumatoid arthritis – which are more than a decade old – suggest that the condition costs the health service £560 million annually, with an additional £1.8 billion in indirect costs to the economy. Those numbers are likely to have risen since.Ms Moran’s intervention comes after Metro.co.uk highlighted the and the .&nbsp;The Lib Dem continued: ‘We reckon there is at least 400,000 people right now in the UK that have long Covid. If we keep having the levels of community transmission that (the UK saw in recent weeks) it could be way higher than that.’The amount of money that we spend on rheumatoid arthritis is in the order of £2.5 billion a year.&nbsp;‘So we have to recognise that this is not some sort of side, fringe issue, it is an enormous problem and we need to fix not just how we are dealing with the crisis but also the welfare system to account for it.’Professor Danny Altmann, from ICL, also made the comparison at an evidence hearing for the coronavirus APPG.But given that the cost of rheumatoid arthritis is likely to have increased since 2009 and cases of long Covid are set to rise significantly, the true cost may be far higher than £2.5 billion.Two years ago, in a , the Chair of the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance Professor Anthony Woolf wrote: ‘Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis costs £10.2 billion in the NHS and healthcare system now, and is expected to reach an estimated £118.6 billion in the next decade.’Arthritis affects some 10 million people in the UK, though the majority have osteoarthritis, which affects some 9 million.The Government does not believe the cost of rheumatoid arthritis is comparable to long Covid.And a health service spokesperson did not address the question when asked directly about how much the NHS is expecting long Covid to cost and whether the comparison is fair.They told Metro.co.uk: ‘The NHS in England has already invested in nearly 70 new, specialist clinics covering the whole country, to ensure patients with long covid get the right treatment, but as a new condition, evidence on this virus and its impact is still emerging, so we will continue to work with clinicians, researchers and patients to develop services in response.’Evidence is still emerging on long Covid, with campaigners and experts arguing that current data is poor, making it difficult for the health service to plan for its impact.&nbsp;The majority of people recover from the initial infection without long-term issues, but huge numbers are reporting debilitating symptoms for months on end, and many recent infections are yet to translate into long Covid.It is unlikely that inoculated people will develop the condition and cases are expected to drop dramatically over the coming months, if the rapid vaccine roll out continues and another wave is avoided.But the fall out from recent cases is likely to be felt across many sectors and for a significant amount of time, with experts unsure of when long Covid patients will recover.Dr Amitava Banerjee, an expert looking at long Covid with the ONS, previously described the problem as ‘worse than a ticking time bomb’ and suggested the impact on the health service would be severe and prolonged.A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘The Government continues to work with our outstanding scientists to improve our understanding of the impact of long-Covid – including on treatment costs, and our focus is on making sure we deliver the best and most bespoke support possible to affected individuals.‘To help people suffering with long-Covid, we have opened new specialist NHS clinics across the country which provide assessment for adults, children and young people alike.‘These clinics mean medical experts are able to assess, diagnose and treat thousands of people suffering the debilitating long-term health implications of this virus.’The Government believes it is too early to estimate the cost to the NHS.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this, .Not convinced?Get us in your feed

The MP leading an investigation into coronavirus fears long Covid could cost the UK around £2.5 billion a year.&nbsp;Layla Moran believes the emerging crisis is comparable to the impact rheumatoid arthritis has on the health service, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to be dealing with the condition for months.&nbsp;The ONS says around one in ten people who test positive will go on to develop long Covid, a catch all term to describe a host of ongoing symptoms in coronavirus patients. More than 1.7 million Covid-19 infections have been reported since Christmas Day in the...

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Harrison Jones

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Long Covid 'could cost UK around £2,500,000,000 a year'

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