Sangster, who lives in the Hawkesbury region north-west of Sydney, said many patients would end up in a “horribly fragmented system” without a dedicated clinic to treat them.
“The government must step in and keep this service open – we have nowhere else to go,” Sangster said.
Sangster has written to Health Minister Ryan Park urging him to provide state funding to keep the clinic open.
Park did not respond to questions about whether he would restore the funding. “The advice is that people with long covid can be supported by their GP, with referral to specialised clinics,” a spokesperson said.
Charlotte Sangster has asked NSW Health Minister Ryan Park to intervene before the clinic closes at the end of September.Credit: Joseph Matthews
While symptoms vary, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines long COVID as a condition that presents three months after a COVID-19 infection, persists for at least two months, and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
A federal parliamentary inquiry in 2023 estimated 4.7 per cent of Australian adults, or about 500,000 people, have symptoms lasting three months or longer after contracting COVID-19.
The inquiry recommended Commonwealth funding towards more purpose-built long COVID clinics in public hospitals that could screen patients with post-infection complications.
A NSW Health spokesperson said most people with long COVID will be supported by their GP but can be referred to specialist cardiology, respiratory or rehabilitation services if they meet certain criteria.
Royal Prince Alfred in Camperdown runs a virtual telehealth long COVID program which accepts referrals from GPs.
But Emma Solomon, whose acute long COVID has left her unable to work for more than three years, said her GP could not provide the comprehensive care she receives at the Darlinghurst clinic.
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“I have a great GP, but GPs don’t have the time,” she said. “This is such a complex, chronic and emerging illness.”
The former teacher was left bed-bound for a year but, with the help of doctors specialising in post-COVID illnesses, has found ways to manage the chronic conditions associated with her long COVID.
Because she lives on Sydney’s upper north shore, outside the hospital’s catchment, she is ineligible to continue treatment at St Vincent’s and will need to join a waitlist for public services in her health district – or pay thousands to attend a private clinic.
“They’ve referred me to a neurologist, cognitive psychologist services, and for scans which I couldn’t have afforded otherwise,” Solomon said. “To have that cut off … there’s just a lot to be really sad about.”
Professor Paul Preisz, the hospital’s chief medical officer, said he empathised with patients who had built relationships with their doctors, but St Vincent’s was not funded to act as a statewide referral centre for long COVID.
The previous Coalition government provided $19 million in the 2022 state budget towards dedicated long COVID clinics at hospitals across the state. When that money ran out, St Vincent’s used philanthropic and research funding to keep the clinic open, Preisz said.
“We were fortunate to get some funding from benefactors, which did help to run the clinic for a longer period, but it doesn’t cover everything, and to be honest, it’s not the best model,” he said.
“GPs have got good skills here, and could certainly manage many patients, so that’s really the direction things have moved in.”
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