Thousands of people hospitalised with COVID-19 are now living with unknown long-term health problems, and this national consortium will track them systematically to find out what those problems are and how to treat them. The pandemic’s acute phase is well documented, but almost nothing is known about the lasting medical, psychological, and rehabilitation needs of survivors. Early evidence suggests damage may extend beyond the lungs, affecting the heart, brain, and other organs in 15–20% of hospitalised patients. Without a coordinated effort, these patients risk fragmented care and missed opportunities for recovery. The consortium brings together existing UK expert groups to perform standardised assessments—including advanced imaging, clinical data collection, and biological samples—on a large cohort of post-hospitalisation patients. If successful, the study will produce a comprehensive map of COVID-19’s long-term health impacts and provide the evidence base for personalised treatment trials. This could reshape clinical guidelines for follow-up care, rehabilitation services, and resource allocation across the NHS, affecting how thousands of current and future survivors are managed for years after their initial illness.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has tragically led to severe acute illness, hospitalisation and death. Beyond the health of those affected, it has had widespread economic, psychological and societal effects. The clinical spectrum is broad, ranging from those with no or minimal symptoms to severe pneumonia in 15-20% with evidence of widespread disease beyond the lung. As we emerge from the first wave of the pandemic we have new insights into the acute phase of this disease but very little information concerning longterm effects of COVID-19 and the ongoing medical, psychological and rehabilitation needs of these patients. We shall establish a national consortium and a research platform embedded within clinical care to understand and improve long-term outcomes for survivors following hospitalisation with COVID-19. We have built the consortium from existing expert groups across the UK and shall use standardised assessments of patients, including advanced imaging, recording of information and collection of samples. This study will provide us with a comprehensive understanding of the impact on the health of those that have been hospitalised with COVID-19. This will enable trials of new strategies of clinical care including personalised treatments to improve the long-term outcome of current and future COVID-19 survivors.
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