Crawford Flint backs CHSS campaign by sharing his Long Covid journey

A new report from the health charity indicated that 40 per cent of people living with Long Covid were unable to work at all due to their condition. This could equate to as many as 72,000 Scots exiting the labour market since 2020.

CHSS belives the NHS is failing to adequately support the 180,000 people across Scotland who are living with Long Covid.

And with the Scottish Government’s Long Covid Support Fund now in its final year, with no commitment on future funding, the charity is calling for more cash to tackle the problem.

Jane-Claire Judson, CHSS chief executive, said: “Covid is still having a huge impact on 180,000 people in Scotland and these people are living in crisis.

“Not only are they experiencing a debilitating health condition, many are also facing extreme financial hardship due to their inability to work. Hardship that is compounded by the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

“We need the Scottish Government to consider greater financial support for people living with Long Covid who are navigating this economic crisis and provide clarity around access and eligibility for benefits.

“The Scottish Government cannot leave people with Long Covid to face unemployment in an economic crisis. We urgently need the Scottish Government to review the financial support available and ensure that people can access it.

“People with Long Covid can't wait any longer. They are struggling financially and support from the NHS is patchy at best.”

Crawford Flint (59), who lives in Linlithgow with his wife, Karen, is backing the CHSS campaign as he knows first hand how challenging Long Covid can be.

Having worked as head of training for an electrical wholesaler, in 2019 he gave that up to become a gardener. However, he has been living with the symptoms of Long Covid since contracting Covid-19 in March 2020; he can no longer work and relies on a mobility scooter to get about.

Crawford described his experience of being treated for Long Covid as “like being sent from pillar to post”.

He has undergone a battery of tests, including several x-rays, ECGs and CT scans, all of which show him to be healthy … but he’s not.

For Crawford, the lack of treatment for people like him is as big a problem as living with the condition itself. Any improvements in his health are down to his own efforts and the backing he has found with fellow sufferers in groups such as the Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland Long Covid Support Group.

He said: “The CHSS support group has been great. You’ve got folks from Shetland to Dumfries and what’s noticeable is that you see the difference in the quality of care. It’s a lottery and it shouldn’t be.

“I was one of the fortunate ones because my own GP was very sympathetic and did everything possible to help me.

“There’s no treatment for Long Covid but there’s also not enough information about the condition. We need a simple A4 sheet that explains the symptoms and directs people to help.”

Crawford got Covid-19 in the very earliest days of the pandemic. He’d gone to Murrayfield to watch Scotland play France as the UK began to move towards lockdown and felt ill within a couple of days.

He spent the next three and a half weeks in bed, fighting a persistent cough and high temperature. Karen kept her distance, bringing food and drinks to the spare room where Crawford had hunkered down.

After that first month he was able to return to his gardening work, but by December 2020 he was having breathing problems.

He spent the first half of 2021 in and out of St John’s Hospital in Livingston having tests, which all came back clear.

However, by the end of the year, he’d not been out of the house for six months and couldn’t walk or talk.

Like many people who failed to shake off Covid-19, Crawford began to do his own research.

He spotted an article on the potential benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, found a centre in Stirling and made an appointment.

He said: “That was an absolute game-changer for me. It took a few sessions but I was finally able to speak without gasping for breath.”

A doctor called Claire Taylor, who set up her own clinic to help Long Covid patients, also recommended an asthma pill which was another game-changer.

While he can now point to gradual improvements in his health, he describes himself as “100 times better than I was but 1000 times worse than I used to be”.

Crawford now volunteers with MS and Oxygen Care Therapy – the charity that provides access to hyperbaric oxygen.

He was also able to walk his daughter Emma part of the way down the aisle at her wedding last April.

“My wife made sure I had my mobility scooter on hand – just in case – but it was fantastic to be able to play my part in Emma’s big day,” he added.