The future of the Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Long COVID service was discussed at Wiltshire Council’s Health Select Committee on 9 September, with an update report following an engagement exercise which considered four possible future options for the service. The four options were: Option A – retain the existing standalone Long COVID service; Option B – cease the standalone service and integrate care into existing pathways; Option C – integrate Long COVID support into existing pathways while retaining the Healthy Futures and group support; and Option D – expand the service to include other chronic conditions.
The Intergrated Care Board's (ICB) original preferred option was Option C. However, the engagement feedback strongly challenged a move away from dedicated specialist provision, with Option D receiving the highest level of support from those who responded, followed closely by retaining the current standalone service. The strength of this feedback has led the ICB to undertake further review work, including exploring broader models supporting people with Long COVID and other post-viral conditions. The current service will continue throughout 2026/27 while this work takes place.
ME Association Involvement
We are pleased that the ME Association’s involvement was explicitly recognised in the resulting “You Said We Did” report (Section 10, pages 6–10). Our submission, alongside feedback from patients, carers and other stakeholders, raised concerns about clinical safety, equity of access, specialist multidisciplinary care, the importance of national guidance and the danger of interpreting falling referral numbers as evidence that the need for Long COVID support has fallen.
The report acknowledges the possibility of hidden demand and barriers within referral pathways and recognises the importance of specialist expertise and personalised support, particularly for people with complex or severe symptoms. It also states that feedback received, including from the ME Association, helped shape the proposed approach and directly informed the next steps.
We are particularly grateful to the service lead, whose support has enabled us to have a meaningful voice in discussions that could affect the future of specialist post-viral care across the area. Without that openness and willingness to involve the ME Association, we would not have had the same opportunity to understand the proposed changes, engage with the process or put forward evidence on behalf of people living with Long COVID and related post-viral conditions.
The Healthcare teams work now continues. The decision about the long-term model has not yet been made, and we intend to remain actively involved in helping shape it. We will continue to provide evidence and examples of effective models, including those bringing together expertise in Long COVID, ME/CFS and other conditions with overlapping symptoms. We will press for proper consideration of hidden and unmet need, access barriers, medical and specialist clinical oversight, and the needs of people with complex, severe and very severe illness. The engagement has demonstrated that patients and stakeholders want specialist provision protected and, in many cases, developed further. We will continue to work constructively with BSW and the ICB to turn that feedback into positive decisions for patients.
This work is also taking place within a changing NHS landscape. BSW ICB is now working as part of the new BSW, Dorset and Somerset ICBs Cluster, bringing the three ICB areas together under a shared cluster governance structure. This makes it particularly important that the experience and needs of people with Long COVID, ME/CFS and other post-viral conditions remain visible across the wider footprint, and that opportunities to develop effective specialist services are not lost as commissioning arrangements evolve.
Wiltshire Health Select Committee meeting
If you have any information that could help us better inform BSW, Dorset and Somerset ICB, please get in touch with the MEA's Health 4 ME team.
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Media Coverage
- Gazette & Herald: Wiltshire's Long Covid service to continue until April | Sept 4, 2026