Nine To Noon The personal face of the hundreds of thousands with Long Covid
9 snips
Mar 18, 2026 Mona Jeffries, epidemiologist who led primary care guidance for long COVID. Larissa Hockey, long COVID advocate and patient pushing for diagnosis and supports. Renee Dingwall, former councillor with severe personal long COVID experience. They discuss lived hardship, gaps in clinical pathways and monitoring, the need for coordinated care and disability recognition, and the strain on families and services.
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From Councilor To Powered Wheelchair In Months
- Renee Dingwall contracted COVID in May 2022 and went from an active councilor and mother to bedbound and then largely couchbound within months.
- By August she couldn't walk, lived with a commode chair for a year, and now uses a powered wheelchair with huge daily care needs.
GP Appointments Then Monthslong Referral Ping Pong
- Renee describes fragmented primary care: 15-minute GP appointments, repeated referrals, long waits and private MRIs paid by public hospitals.
- GPs try rheumatologists, pain specialists and scans but results and specialist input arrive months later, leaving patients in no-man's-land.
Long COVID Needs Holistic Coordinated Pathways
- Long COVID requires holistic, coordinated care because symptoms vary widely and one-size-fits-all referrals fail.
- Renee highlights ~200 symptoms and the need for a single pathway that coordinates medical, OT and social supports.