• Helen O'Brien, Michael J Tracey, Ciara Ottewill, Michael E O'Brien, Ross K Morgan, Richard W Costello, Cedric Gunaratnam, Daniel Ryan, Noel G McElvaney, Samuel J McConkey, Cora McNally, Gerard F Curley, Siobhan MacHale, Diane Gillan, Niall Pender, Helen Barry, Eoghan de Barra, Fiona M Kiernan, Imran Sulaiman, and Killian Hurley.
• Department of Respiratory Medicine, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. helenobrien@rcsi.ie.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2021 May 1; 190 (2): 461-468.

BackgroundIn January 2020, the WHO declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a public health emergency; by March 11, a pandemic was declared. To date in Ireland, over 3300 patients have been admitted to acute hospitals as a result of infection with COVID-19.AimsThis article aims to describe the establishment of a COVID Recovery Service, a multidisciplinary service for comprehensive follow-up of patients with a hospital diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia.MethodsA hybrid model of virtual and in-person clinics was established, supported by a multidisciplinary team consisting of respiratory, critical care, infectious diseases, psychiatry, and psychology services. This model identifies patients who need enhanced follow-up following COVID-19 pneumonia and aims to support patients with complications of COVID-19 and those who require integrated community care.ResultsWe describe a post-COVID-19 service structure together with detailed protocols for multidisciplinary follow-up. One hundred seventy-four patients were discharged from Beaumont Hospital after COVID-19 pneumonia. Sixty-seven percent were male with a median age (IQR) of 66.5 (51-97). Twenty-two percent were admitted to the ICU for mechanical ventilation, 11% had non-invasive ventilation or high flow oxygen, and 67% did not have specialist respiratory support. Early data suggests that 48% of these patients will require medium to long-term specialist follow-up.ConclusionsWe demonstrate the implementation of an integrated multidisciplinary approach to patients with COVID-19, identifying those with increased physical and mental healthcare needs. Our initial experience suggests that significant physical, psychological, and cognitive impairments may persist despite clinical resolution of the infection.

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