Sheffield GP describes long Covid 'nightmare' which kept her off work for a year

Dr Lisa Philip, who is a partner at Chapelgreen Practice, told how she had been stricken since March last year and was only just ‘phasing back to work’ now.

Speaking to Toby Foster on BBC Radio Sheffield this morning, the 48-year-old said: “It’s been a bit of a nightmare. It’s just such an unknown illness and it’s a rollercoaster ride. You think you’re getting better and then you get something else. I feel like long Covid is the gift that keeps giving.

"You’re faced with so many different things and it takes a long time to get back to feeling anywhere close to normal.

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"I wouldn’t say I’m 100 per cent now but I’m able to function so I’m just grateful for that.

"A lot of people are really young, fit people. There are a lot of women in my group who are late 40s, early 50s but they were in the gym five days a week, they were people who were running marathons and a lot of them have been off for the same duration I’ve been off.”

Long Covid affects an estimated one in 10 people who contract the virus.

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Even people who had mild symptoms at first can develop long-term problems, with common symptoms including extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, problems with memory and concentration, sickness, depression and anxiety.

Dr Philip described how her experience of long Covid have given her even greater appreciation of the vaccines which are being rolled out.

She revealed that jabs in the Chapeltown area were now being given to people aged over 55 and that uptake had been ‘really good so far’.

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"I’m back at work and I’ve seen for myself how important it is to get the vaccine because Covid has caused such chaos for our communities,” she said.

"It’s a serious illness and I know some people still think it doesn’t exist or think it’s not that bad but it can have a devastating impact on people. The vaccine is a game changer for us. It’s the way we can get through this.”