New Long COVID e-learning course

A new course is available on the KHP Learning Hub based around recently launched animations on Long COVID recovery. 

The course – available here – is aimed at anyone involved in healthcare who wants to know more about the complex recovery process following a viral illness like Long COVID.

In the blog below Julie Moore, a Consultant Respiratory Physiotherapist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust who co-wrote the course with the help of clinicians and patients, explains more. 

Who is the Long COVID course for?

The e-learning course is designed by the South East London (SEL) Long COVID Programme for any healthcare professional who would like to watch the films, followed by a few questions as a knowledge check. There is no pass or fail, the questions help to consolidate the key learning points. The course takes approximately one hour to complete, or it can be broken up and completed in smaller chunks to fit around busy schedules.

Any health sector worker can benefit from the course both for their own health and recovery, but also to signpost the films to patients who express concerns about not being able to recover after a viral illness.

It is really important that health professionals understand how to help the body and mind recover after a viral illness like COVID-19, and recognise the ongoing symptoms that millions of people are suffering with across the UK.

Long COVID affects 2.9% of the UK population (ONS Mar 2023). The symptoms of Long COVID are wide and varied, so often people do not recognise them as a post viral illness. The most common symptoms are fatigue, breathlessness, pain, brain fog, irritable dry cough, but there are many more and they can last long time after the initial illness.

We want people to act early and help the body recover within the first few weeks of the viral illness, as this is the key time when someone needs to understand if their body is ready to do the things they were doing before the illness. The films and e-learning will help health professionals to understand the key principles that are delivered in a simple format that can be passed on to anyone.

Brigid Bose, the SEL Long COVID programme care coordinator, has completed the course. She says:

Coming new to this role has been a steep learning curve and I’m so lucky to have had access to the e-learning course. Knowing that the films have been co-produced with patients and combine their personal stories with the best available information makes me feel more confident discussing recovery and symptom management with colleagues and patients. Each film is just a few minutes long, presenting a topic clearly and succinctly, with a quick knowledge check for the key points at the end. I found it enjoyable and easy to work through.

Laura Dingle, a senior musculoskeletal and falls specialist physiotherapist, who works closely with Bromley Care Home staff, has also completed the course. She says:

This e-learning course is brilliant. I love that you can watch the short films in any order and you can dip in and out so you can watch one when you have a small gap between patients.  The films are clear, give really helpful tips and the three take away messages at the end help to summarise the important points of each topic.  I would definitely signpost my patients to them as I think they are a great resource.

The course can be accessed via the KHP Learning Hub here.

The KHP Learning Hub is an education resource that is free to use for anyone working or studying in the KHP partnership. A guide on how to use the Hub can can be found here.

The South East London Long COVID Programme is a two-year programme funded by NHS Charities Together and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity. It is one of the first KHP services to include all five NHS Trusts in south east London and their hospital charities. Its overall aim is to accelerate the recovery of people with Long COVID across the six boroughs of south east London.