Long COVID advisory group representation

17 May 2022

Dr Tipu Aamir (FFPMANZCA), has been asked to be part of a New Zealand Ministry of Health community of practice group looking at clinical practice and guidelines around the treatment of long COVID.

The ministry has established an expert advisory group to assess the evidence about long COVID and apply it to the New Zealand context. It is using a wider group to feed back on the process.
 
Dr Aamir, former chair of the Faculty of Pain Medicine New Zealand National Committee, welcomes the addition of specialised pain medicine physicians to ministry’s community of practice group for work on long COVID. “The ministry wants to link directly to specialists in the group to get the latest on treating patients with long COVID. They ideally want the group to share guidelines and keep up-to-date with best practice,” he says. 
 
The ministry is also funding research on the Impacts of COVID-19 in the Aotearoa study, run by Victoria University of Wellington. The study aims to understand the experiences of people in New Zealand who have had COVID-19 and to learn about the short- and longer-term impacts on the health and well-being of individuals, whānau and families.  
 
There is a particular focus on key subgroups including Māori, Pacific people, people with disabilities (including long COVID). The outcomes of the study will be used to advise health officials.