Post-Covid Virtual Management Programme

What is Post-Covid Syndrome?

Most people with Covid feel better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms and make a full recovery within 12 weeks. For some people, symptoms can last longer. This is called Long Covid or Post-Covid Syndrome. Long Covid is a new condition that is still being studied. As you recover from Covid, you may still be experiencing the impact of the virus on both your body and mind. These changes should get better with time, but there are things you can do to help your recovery. We hope this course gives you the toolkit to understand what has happened and what to expect.

The Virtual Management Programme

Our nine-week Virtual Management Programme is designed to help you in your post-Covid recovery. The aim of the programme is to encourage, enable and empower you to self-manage and take charge of your symptoms. With the advice and guidance given during the course we hope you take away the tools to self-manage. With Covid being a syndrome, we are learning about it each day, and the symptoms being reported are varied, but we have specialists in those areas to help and advise.

We have specialist clinicians in all fields who will join us each week to discuss the topic and answer any questions you have. A big thank you to all the specialists in NHS Trusts across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The nine weeks: What to expect?

Each week will consist of a different topic covered by specialists in that respective fields. During the session there will be some presentations as well as some small group work and discussions. There will be lots of opportunity to ask questions. The week-by-week schedule is as follows:

Week 1: Introduction - What to expect from the programme and what you intend to gain from it.

Week 2: Setting the scene - Discussing what Long Covid is, what the symptoms are and the possible causes.

Week 3: Fatigue - Explaining what causes fatigue post-Covid and how it can affect us, our equilibrium, acceptance, activity management, stress, relaxation and the importance of sleep.

Week 4: Brain fog - Discussing memory, attention, and brain fog, recognising the impact on our wellbeing.

Week 5: Psychological wellbeing - Understanding emotional difficulties following Covid, and identifying ways to improve psychological wellbeing.

Week 6: Returning to work - A session discussing work (sickness, reasonable adjustments).

Week 7: Breathlessness - Normal breathing, dysfunctional breathing, controlling and retraining your breathing, visualisation and mindfulness techniques.

Week 8: Pain - Understand the ways our bodies generate pain signals, chronic pain and management strategies.

Week 9: Returning to activity - Explaining deconditioning, setting baselines, and how to safely return to exercise.

Next steps

Please complete the relevant questionnaires on the C-19app. An administrator will be in touch with you via e-mail before the start of the programme to provide you with a handbook, relevant resources and the meeting invite for the sessions. Please look out for this e-mail in junk boxes – this is a common problem our patients experience.

Peer support programme

The Peer Support Team is here to manage a community space for you to come together, share your experiences and support each other along your recovery journeys. The Peer Support Workers are here to bear witness, acknowledge and recognise what you are going through and support you along this journey in a way that you would like to be supported. We offer an optional peer-led support group to further aid your recovery journey. The group also supports individuals in working towards their goals.

Do you need to print this information?

A leaflet version of the information above is available here to print out:   Post Covid Service virtual management programme March 2024.pdf 3MB