CSP updates Covid-19 rehabilitation standards

The updated standards have been expanded to include any episode of hospital care, encompassing people with acute Covid-19 and long Covid.

Rehabilitation of adults who are hospitalised due to acute Covid-19 or long Covid: physiotherapy service delivery provides the latest national guidance, government regulations, evidence, expert opinion and lived experiences of people with Covid-19.

It lays out the key principles of delivering physiotherapy and rehabilitation for people with acute Covid-19 and long Covid in a hospital setting.

This includes a definition and description of acute and long Covid, different classifications and the latest data on prevalence.

Standards will help address complex rehab needs

Ema Swingwood, chair of the Association for Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care (ACPRC), worked with the CSP to help develop the standards.

Commenting on the new updates, she said:

‘We are constantly learning about acute Covid-19 and now more so long Covid, and it is therefore imperative that guidelines are updated accordingly.

‘This patient group has complex rehabilitation needs, with every patient presenting slightly differently. Having a framework to work towards will provide focus for healthcare professionals.

Collaborative working across primary and secondary care is essential to ensure this patient group gets the input they require

‘The ACPRC were pleased to work with long Covid experts such as Darren Brown in order to contribute to these updated guidelines.’

Fran Hallam, the CSP's research into practice adviser, added that: ‘We’re learning that people with Covid-19 often have multi-dimensional symptoms across many different body systems.

The standards highlight the importance of a personalised, multidisciplinary approach to assessment and rehabilitation