Denton and Reddish MP speaks out on debilitating effects of ‘long Covid’
Andrew Gwynne came down with coronavirus symptoms last March.
Last updated 14th Jan 2021
A Greater Manchester MP has told how ‘long Covid’ has left his short-term memory ‘shot to pieces’, while he continues to suffer brain fog.
Andrew Gwynne, who represents Denton and Reddish, came down with coronavirus symptoms last March.
But while these went within the two weeks of self-isolation, his illness did not.
Physically fit and with no underlying health conditions, he is one of an estimated 150,000 Covid sufferers who have gone on to suffer post-viral fatigue over a prolonged period of time.
The 46-year-old opened up about his experiences today in a Parliamentary debate on the condition.
Speaking in the Commons he explained he began to feel “grotty and run down” with Covid in March.
But while his initial illness was relatively brief, he still feels the effects today.
The Labour MP said: “My condition is not as severe as it was even just a few months back, there have been real improvements, but it’s been a hard slog to get here.
“For the first seven months or so, the exhaustion came back frequently and to the point where doing just simple tasks around the house brought me out in massive sweats like I’d run the London Marathon.
“I had lots of dizzy spells, I’ve never had vertigo before this, and oh the brain fog – in a job where you have to be razor sharp, my short-term memory is shot to pieces. I’ve had to learn to pace myself, trying to push my limits would set me back. I still have to remind myself not to overdo it.”
The father-of-three said brain fog remained the longest lasting and most debilitating symptom of the condition.
“When it’s bad, taking in information and processing it is so difficult and physically and mentally tiring, often triggering headaches, dizziness and vertigo,” he added.
Although the work is in its ‘infancy’, experimental figures published by the Office for National Statistics in December put the number of long Covid sufferers in the UK at more than 150,000.
It said one in 10 people who tested positive for coronavirus still had symptoms 12 weeks later, while one in five had symptoms for five weeks or more.
Fatigues, coughs and headaches were the most common complaints.
In October Mr Gwynne welcomed the news that people suffering ‘Long covid’ symptoms would be offered specialist help at clinics across England.
It came after NHS chief executive Simon Stevens announced a £10 million investment to help kick-start and designate Long Covid clinics throughout the country.
Speaking at the time, Mr Gwynne said: “I have found ‘Long Covid’ to be an absolutely debilitating condition and know that thousands of others are in the same boat. It has been a frustrating period for many of us, as we have had to struggle to get awareness – let alone clinical support – for the condition.
“I am delighted that the NHS England is taking ‘long Covid’ seriously and hope that the measures announced today will help all of us ‘long termers’ along the road to recovery.”