Hundreds of Hawke's Bay people are struggling to bounce back after having Covid-19, health experts say.
Support is now at hand for those people still suffering with shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitations and associated anxiety after the two waves of Omicron that swept through the region and country this year.
Kate Te Pou, a nurse practitioner at regional health arm Te Whatu Ora Te Matau a Māui (formerly Hawke's Bay District Health Board), is part of the Covid Community Outreach Service, which provides support to patients when further assessment is needed.
"Some people are struggling to concentrate at work due to brain fog or suffering from fatigue that sends them back to bed for an afternoon nap and despite napping they never feel refreshed or recovered," she says.
Not just physical activity triggers fatigue. Thinking and emotions also trigger it, so an enjoyable afternoon with whānau could also tire someone, she says.
"Fatigue is leaving many people feeling overwhelmed and frustrated as most had previously been able to do their daily activities, work or even attend the gym, without concern," she says. "Now simple tasks have become exhausting."
Outreach patients are referred by doctors and then assessed to determine if they need to see a nurse practitioner, an allied health professional or another service for either an acute Covid infection, or post-Covid syndrome or long-covid rehabilitation.
At-risk assessment is done in the person's home, via telephone or at a primary care facility, and Te Pou says she's "definitely seeing" more people with long-Covid, defined as symptoms more than 12 weeks after initial infection.
