THE health minister said he is hoping to secure around £2 million to fund long Covid services in the North of Ireland.
Robin Swann said the money would help deliver proposals from the Health and Social Care Board.
The board will look at how to help people suffering from the effects of Covid-19 months after contracting the virus.
An estimated one in ten people who contract the virus will still have symptoms months later.
Long Covid – or Post Covid-19 Syndrome – is the name given to describe a range of symptoms still experienced by people more than 12 weeks after they had coronavirus.
Mr Swann said the health board recently submitted proposals to the Department of Health for multi-disciplinary services and he asked his officials to consider them “urgently”.
Any bid for funding would be subject to approval by the Executive, he added.
Mr Swann updated the Assembly in response to a question from an MLA.
He said: “What we’re looking at is that multi-disciplinary approach, so there will be physiotherapists, primary care and secondary care as well.
“In regards to the costed proposals that have come forward to myself, they’re not insignificant to establish this.
“We’re looking possibly at this year and next year in the region of £2million to supply this service.”
The Department of Health confirmed that this would fund services up until the end of March 2023 if approved.
Mr Swann also told the Assembly that his counterparts in Scotland and Wales were not following England’s approach in establishing specialist long Covid clinics.
Instead, he said, Scotland was developing community-based services while Wales had identified a need for a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation service.
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