Response: ScotGov Funding Announcement
Long Covid Scotland acknowledges the Scottish Government’s recommitment to £4.5 million in funding for Long Covid and ME/CFS services, announced last November. While stability of investment is welcome, without a clear delivery plan, measurable outcomes, and robust governance, this funding risks being little more than a promise on paper.
The issues are stark:
No detail on delivery: There is no explanation of how this money will be used, whether for specialist clinics, multidisciplinary teams, research, or outreach. Services could be re-opened or quietly absorbed into existing budgets with no clear patient impact.
No measurable outcomes: There are no targets on reduced waiting times, numbers treated, or creation of pathways. Without timescales, patients remain in limbo.
No oversight: We do not know who will monitor progress or how health boards will be held to account.
Systemic issues ignored: Concerns raised in recent resignation letters and by patients, including repetition of known systemic failures, inconsistency, inaccessibility, and lack of standards, remain unaddressed. Public health messaging, GP awareness and equity of access are missing.
Risk of funding without delivery: Recurring funding is positive, but without workforce plans, training, or infrastructure it cannot deliver sustainable services. There are currently very few clinicians with expertise in Long Covid or ME/CFS, where will the skilled staff come from?
Voices excluded: People with lived experience have consistently highlighted gaps in care and barriers to access, yet their perspectives are not reflected in the current approach. This risks repeating past mistakes and designing services that do not meet real needs.
Complete ambiguity over scale: There is no clarity on how many people this funding will serve. Without a clear target population or patient numbers, it is impossible to judge whether this represents meaningful impact or a token gesture.
The numbers show just how thin this funding will be spread. According to the Scottish Health Survey, 443,752 (8% of the population) are living with Long Covid. The Scottish Government’s own report recognises 20,000 with ME, though this is widely considered an underestimate. Combined, that’s at least 463,752 people. Spread across them, £4.5 million equates to just £9.70 per patient per year. And this figure falls further once “other similar conditions” are included, for example, fibromyalgia (around 2% of the population, or 110,938 people) would reduce the available amount to around £7.83 per patient.
Meanwhile, the service model described remains almost entirely rehabilitation-focused - fatigue management, physiotherapy, and breathlessness clinics. While valuable for some, these are not medical treatments and will leave many patients without the care they need.
Funding is essential, but funding without delivery, transparency, and accountability will fail the hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland already living with these conditions. Patients deserve a clear national plan, equitable access across health boards, and published outcomes that prove this money is making a difference.
