Members' Business — S6M-12371 Sandesh Gulhane: International Long Covid Awareness Day 2024

That the Parliament recognises that 15 March 2024 is International Long Covid Awareness Day; understands that it is estimated that around 187,000 people have long COVID in Scotland, an estimated 10,000 of which are children; notes that long COVID can cause a myriad of debilitating and often life-altering symptoms; considers that a lack of awareness of long COVID exists among the public, employers, medical professionals and policy makers, and that there is often a stigma that negatively affects the mental health and wellbeing of people with long COVID; notes the view that current Scottish Government funding for initiatives does not go far enough in addressing any need for more effective treatment services and support for people with long COVID; further notes, with regret, the view that there has been a lack of progress in addressing consistency of access to diagnosis and treatment services, that there is a continuing postcode lottery for long COVID support, and that there remains little data for monitoring the current prevalence of long COVID in Scotland to inform the scale of required care; notes the belief that there is a need for clear referral pathways across all NHS boards, including access to multidisciplinary teams of specialists; highlights, with particular concern, reports that there are no specific services aimed at children or young people with long COVID in Scotland, and notes the calls for the Scottish Government to fully implement, without delay, the recommendations in the COVID-19 Recovery Committee report, Long COVID.