Active Lincolnshire have developed guidance for supporting those with Long-Covid to be active and benefit from the physical and mental health benefits that brings. The guidance has been produced as part of a of a wider project, funded by NHS Charities Together, and forming part of the Let's Move Lincolnshire strategy, to ensure Lincolnshire’s physical activity and sport sector are able to provide positive experiences and accessible opportunities for Lincolnshire residents, of all ages, with Long Covid.

Working in partnership with the Long Covid stakeholder group of Lincolnshire NHS, Shine and Every-one, we have brought the voices of residents with long-covid into the heart of the guidance, using real stories to help explain the reality of the impact Long Covid has on day-to-day life.

Alongside an overview of the condition and impact on individual capabilities, the guidance focuses on providing practical adaptations, changes and key considerations across four main areas:

• People – Considering the knowledge of different roles an individual might come into contact with before, during and after participating in activity.
  
  
• Programme – Identifying small changes to the delivery of activities base on individual need.
  
  
• Environment – Identifying small changes to the setting activity is hosted within.
  
  
• Communication – Looking at how an accessible and adaptive programme is promoted.

Suitable for anyone providing physical activity and sport, the guidance can be used by leisure centres, gyms, sports clubs and coaches, PE teachers, personal trainers, health professionals, community activators, lifestyle services and walk leaders to widen their knowledge of the condition, its main symptoms and key considerations, to ensure they can support residents with Long-Covid to be active, either as beginners or seeking to return to previous habits.

The recommendations compliment the advice provided for individuals with the condition and health professionals, bringing together resources from the NHS Your Recovery platform and the Moving Medicine Covid-recovery resources.

It is hoped that this guidance will help providers of physical activity feel more confident in meeting participant needs at every stage, from deciding to be active, through attending and then deciding to come back the following week.

Over the next month the guidance will be developed into online videos and interactive tasks. With the Let’s Move Lincolnshire website developing to make it easier for residents and health practitioners to identify activities and opportunities facilitated or led by an upskilled workforce.

UPDATE March 2023

The Guidance has now been transformed into an interactive course that takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. This is available for free through our course page.

Find out more and enroll now.