100 signatures reached
To: Wes Streeting and Ashley Dalton, Department of Health and Social Care
Invest in Long Covid & M.E. Research: Thousands of Children DISABLED, DISCHARGED, & HIDDEN FROM VIEW

- Develop a long-term strategy to fund biomedical research and treatment for Long Covid in adults and children.
- Stop clinic closures—commit to long-term, effective care for Long Covid, M.E., and overlapping conditions
- Train doctors and healthcare professionals - expand and sustain specialist services.
Why is this important?
- Five years after the start of the Covid pandemic, thousands remain severely ill - Many housebound or often bedbound, unable to attend school, work, or take part in daily life. Disabled, discharged, and hidden from view.
- Covid has left millions chronically ill, including over 100,000 children in England and Scotland (ONS data 2024).
- Long Covid is not a historic issue - new infections and reinfections continue to increase the number of people developing chronic illness.
- Long Covid can cause systemic damage, affecting organs, the immune system, and even the brain.
- Half of Long Covid patients meet the criteria for M.E, a condition that, at its most severe, leaves people confined to darkened rooms, unable to sit up, eat or speak.
- Instead of investing in care and research, the government is shutting down Long Covid clinics in England, leaving thousands without support.
- As knowledge has advanced, NO additional funding has been allocated for Long Covid research—despite the increasing likelihood that further research could lead to effective treatments.
A fraction of the additional £26 billion in NHS funding announced for the next two years could change this by:
- Helping children and adults with Long Covid return to their daily lives, education, and work. Providing crucial support for young people transitioning into adulthood and meaningful employment.
- Preventing families and households from falling into financial crisis, allowing parents, caregivers, and those with Long Covid to stay in work while ensuring access to the care they desperately need
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✅ #FundOurFuture
✅ #LCandME
✅ #FundThePlan
"I used to be healthy and go to school like everyone else. I used to ride horses and swim and play tennis and play with my friends. Now I spend my life in bed and I'm too sick to move. I have no friends anymore, I can't do my hobbies and I can't do any school. No doctor knows how to help me and for most of the time, none have even tried. Some of them even didn't believe me and said I was just lazy. I am abandoned and I've given up, honestly. I'm not the only one. I don't understand why no one will help us."
12-year-old living with Long Covid since 2020.
“My teenager has had Long Covid since he was 9. He desperately misses school and football. For a while, he managed 20 minutes of school a day, but he has progressed to severe M.E. and has been unable to walk or tolerate light, screens, or even conversation. I gave up work to care for him. Our family is still stuck in 'lockdown'. Please, please, please help him by funding treatment research.”
Parent of 13-year-old living with Long Covid since 2022