Long COVID inquiry backs AMA’s calls

The Committee conducting the inquiry into Long COVID and repeated COVID infections has released an issues paper detailing the Committee’s preliminary insights and considerations. The paper backs much of the AMA’s submission to the inquiry.

Many of the issues and recommendations of the AMA’s submission appear in the issues paper, including that the greatest burden of managing Long COVID will fall on GPs.

“The Committee anticipates that the greatest burden of care relating to Long COVID and repeated COVID infections will fall on primary care providers, entry level services to the health system such as those provided by general practitioners,” the paper says.

The AMA urged a strong health system focus in its submission, stating that with so many unknowns around Long COVID and repeat COVID infections, the best way to deal with these issues is to fix our health system now.

While we cannot accurately predict the impact that Long COVID will have on our health system, we know that right now it is barely able to manage demand. The AMA has highlighted the serious bed block issues with the Clear the hospital logjam campaign, and the issues facing general practice in the Modernise Medicare campaign.

The Guardian reported the AMA’s submission underlining its position that Australia had “moved too quickly” to remove safe and effective public health measures limiting the spread of COVID and recommended “a pandemic plan that relies on more than vaccination.”

One of the AMA’s key immediate concerns is the end of the 50-50 Commonwealth-state hospital funding split for COVID at the end of the year. This will see our already struggling public hospitals fall even further behind, risking burnout for our overworked doctors and other hospital staff. We have already heard reports that some hospitals are preparing to lay off staff when this funding arrangement ends.

The Issues Paper also agreed with the AMA’s clear, simple statement that the best way to prevent Long COVID is to prevent COVID to begin with.

The AMA’s key recommendations to the Committee are:

1. Flexible strategies: Any plans or strategies developed must be flexible in order to adapt to new information as it arrives and to accommodate the specific needs of affected communities.
2. Support the Health System: Long COVID will have impacts on the entire health system. GPs will be on the front line and will need appropriate resourcing to manage the expected increase in patients. GPs cannot be expected to take on this additional burden with no additional resources as they have throughout the pandemic. It will also impact hospitals and aged care which require additional support.
3. Prevention: Australia has moved too quickly to remove safe and effective public health measures which limit the spread of COVID-19. We need to return to a pandemic plan that relies on more than vaccination.

The AMA’s full submission, lodged on 18 November, is now publicly available here: https://www.ama.com.au/articles/ama-submission-inquiry-long-covid-and-repeated-covid-infections