THE work Bradford hospital staff are doing with patients suffering from long Covid will be featured in a national TV documentary.

A behind-the-scenes look at how staff at St Luke’s Hospital have dealt with long Covid sufferers will feature on Channel 4’s Dispatches programme.

‘The Truth About Long Covid’, will explore the ground-breaking work of respiratory consultant Dr Paul Whitaker and his team at St Luke’s Hospital.

Patients at St Luke’s who suffer from long Covid see a specialist nurse and fill out a range of questionnaires on their experiences with the virus, are given a walking test by a physiotherapists and have a nutritional assessment with a hospital dietician.

This will be followed by X-rays and a consultation with Dr Whitaker.

He said: “What we found early on is that patients are getting a multitude of symptoms.

“Patients really appreciate being reviewed, they like to know what the physical investigations show and they like to know that they’re not alone and that they’re being listened to.”

It is estimated that 500,000 people across the country are suffering from long Covid.

Symptoms of long Covid include ongoing fatigue, loss of taste or smell, respiratory and cardiovascular problems and mental health issues.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is among more than 60 sites in the country where people can get specialist help for Long Covid.

The assessment centres are taking referrals from GPs for people experiencing brain fog, anxiety, depression, breathlessness, fatigue and other debilitating symptoms.

NHS England has provided £10 million for the network of clinics, which started opening last month.

New research has shown one in five people with coronavirus develop longer-term symptoms.

The 30-minute long documentary will be broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday, March 15 at 8pm.

Bradford Teaching Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust tweeted a preview of the programme: