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University of Leeds demonstrate Long Covid research impact with ELAROS

Autonom-e — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:41:06 +0000

University of Leeds publish case study on the Impact of a research programme for Post COVID Condition or Long COVID (LC) with ELAROS

August 11th, 2025

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Long covid group work shaping West Yorkshire’s rehabilitation future

Autonom-e — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:20:51 +0000

Long covid group work shaping West Yorkshire’s rehabilitation future

We are pleased to share this excellent case study from our colleagues at Airedale on our recent collaboration to deliver vocational rehabilitation across West Yorkshire

Reposted from The West Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/long-covid-group-work-shaping-west-2vdye/?trackingId=FSiH1w64oWJ08y6kLNPFkg%3D%3D

What’s this project all about?

Since the start of the pandemic, many people have struggled to stay in or return to work because of long covid symptoms like fatigue, brain fog and anxiety. In response, West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board colleagues from across the three NHS trusts in Bradford District and Craven, created a support programme to help people manage their symptoms and remain in work.

The vocational rehabilitation (VR) programme began in 2021. It combines group sessions with one-to-one support to help people understand their health, build confidence and make practical changes at work.

What the service offers

People begin with a triage call, where a health professional talks through their situation and helps them decide the next steps. Most people join virtual group sessions, which focus on:

understanding long covid
managing symptoms
learning from others with similar experiences
planning for a return to work or staying well at work

After this, they are offered a 1:1 session, where personalised recommendations for workplace adjustments are written in an AHP (allied health professional) report. They can then share this with their employer. Joining review groups is another option, giving them a chance to discuss progress, challenges and ask questions alongside other participants and therapists. Extra 1:1 support is available for those who need it most. People can continue to attend monthly drop-in sessions for as long as they feel they need support.

Rehabilitation Lead, Jez Gee, explains:

“What makes this approach different is the focus on group work. By bringing people together, the team creates a space where individuals can share experiences, support each other and learn useful strategies. Participants get expert advice from health professionals, support to plan workplace adjustments and ongoing access to drop-ins and group reviews. This approach is also more accessible meaning we can support more people.”

Faye Peary, Clinical Occupational Therapy Lead, adds:

“When done well, group support is incredibly powerful. It helps people feel less alone, more in control and more confident. Our goal is to provide tools that empower people to manage their health – not just for now, but for the future. The group sessions help participants reconnect and regain their confidence.”

The group sessions focus on four key areas:

Information – practical advice on workplace rights, how to talk to your employer and where to get help
Acceptance – sharing stories help people feel understood and less isolated
Empowerment – simple tools help people understand their limits and plan adjustments
Behaviour change – cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and motivational techniques help people create helpful patterns

What difference has it made?

The results so far have been life-changing for many people

For people returning to work:

93% were not working before the programme
93% returned to work and stayed there after taking part – we support people for as long as they need when they return and typically this is for at least six months

For people staying in work:

76% were struggling to remain in work before the programme with the other 24% very recently going off sick
98% were able to return or stay in work afterwards
some decided to retire early due to health reasons, saying the programme helped them make that decision positively

People also said they felt:

more confident and in control
happier with their job and work-life balance
less likely to feel at risk of losing their job

Over 60% said the support was essential or had made a big difference to their situation.

What do people think about it?

People who joined the feedback shared positive feedback.

One long COVID vocational rehab patient said:

“I no longer felt on my own and knew there were others feeling the same as me.

Faye reflects:

“What stands out is not just the health progress people made, but the way they were able to take back control of their lives. People felt supported, not alone and able to make decisions about their work and wellbeing.”

What’s next?

The success of the long covid VR programme has been taken up as part of the Healthy Working Life programme opening the door to wider plans and ensuring further

keep offering the long covid pathway as part of the core service
develop support for people with multiple or long-term health conditions
launch a new offer that supports people regardless of diagnosis
create short videos and tools for patients and professionals
provide training to other health professionals across West Yorkshire to improve access to vocational rehabilitation

Across West Yorkshire we’ll also be carrying out projects that build capacity and test scalable models across the region:

Airedale (vocational rehab level 1) – we will train staff across cardiac, pulmonary and stroke rehab. High-quality patient resources will support 400 people, with 40 expected to stay in or return to work
Stroke survivors (aphasia support) – expanded speech therapy and aphasia cafes will help 32 people. Eight are expected to reach work-related goals
Active Leeds (cardiac, pulmonary and stroke rehab) – we will embed vocational rehab into existing services, supporting 150 people. Around 45 should remain in or return to work
Bradford (cardiac and heart failure rehab) – integrated vocational support will help 150 people. Up to 60 are expected to continue working
Calderdale and Huddersfield (peer support) – low-cost peer groups will promote mental health and recovery, supporting 35 people. At least eight will benefit in terms of work
Mid Yorkshire (cardiac rehab) – rehab services will be tailored with vocational support to help 83 people. Around 46 are likely to return to or stay in work

Jez said:

“This isn’t just about long covid. We want to put rehabilitation at the heart of healthcare across the region so that everyone has the tools, confidence and support to stay in or return to meaningful work. It’s about changing how we see rehabilitation – focusing on what matters to people and helping them move forward with confidence.”

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Román Rocha Lawrence Speaks at Clinical Post Covid Society Conference

Autonom-e — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 16:00:29 +0000

Román Rocha Lawrence Presents at Clinical Post Covid Society Conference

In March, Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research & Development at ELAROS, was invited to speak at the Clinical Post Covid Society’s annual conference. His session showcased the collaborative work between ELAROS, the University of Leeds, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, BACME, and the ME Association.

Having attended the conference annually since its inception in 2023, Román shared reflections on the progress made in clinical and academic approaches to Long Covid, and presented highlights from ELAROS’ joint initiatives aimed at improving support for patients nationwide.

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ELAROS Sponsors Clinical Post Covid Society’s 2025 Conference

Autonom-e — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 16:00:31 +0000

ELAROS Sponsors Clinical Post Covid Society’s 2025 Conference

In March 2025, ELAROS proudly sponsored the Clinical Post Covid Society’s Annual Conference in Birmingham in.

Our Director of Research & Development, Román Rocha Lawrence, delivered one of the closing sessions titled “Looking to the Future”, which featured three impactful case studies from our C19-YRS platform:

Scaling NHS support services through self-referrals and improving patient reach
Supporting hard-to-reach patients with Long Covid via regional support and signposting
A national collaboration to drive our ME/CFS initiative and support patients and clinics alike

Furthermore as part of the programme, Jeremy Gee & Faye Peary from Airedale NHS Foundation Trust delivered an excellent presentation on their Vocational Rehabilitation project with ELAROS. Oliwia Zwara and Román Rocha Lawrence had the pleasure of catching up with our many other collaborators on the day.

Thank you to everyone who visited our stand—it was a pleasure to connect in person!

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ELAROS Hosts Webinar on Digitally Supporting ME/CFS and Long COVID Services

Autonom-e — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:00:29 +0000

ELAROS Hosts Webinar on Digitally Supporting ME/CFS and Long COVID Services

On Wednesday, 5th February, ELAROS hosted a webinar on Digitally Supporting ME/CFS and Long COVID Services, bringing together key experts at a crucial time for the ME/CFS and Long COVID communities.

The event featured a presentation from Sarah Tyson (University of Manchester/ME Association) and Russell Fleming (ME Association), who provided an update on the development of a new clinical assessment toolkit for ME/CFS, created in collaboration with people with ME/CFS and clinicians working in NHS ME/CFS specialist services.

Román Rocha Lawrence from ELAROS led the session, presenting our proposal to support NHS ME/CFS services in partnership with The ME Association. This collaboration aims to offer early exclusive access to The MEA’s clinical toolkit through ELAROS’ digital platform, which has already supported tens of thousands of patients across 65 health organisations worldwide, as well as national research studies and service evaluations for NHS England and NHS Scotland.

We were also joined by Anna Gregorowski, Chair of BACME (British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS), a multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to advancing ME/CFS clinical care in the UK. ELAROS is working closely with BACME to signpost its resources, ensuring they are more widely accessible to clinicians and patients through our digital channels.

This webinar followed our highly successful Building a Long COVID Service Legacy series, which has helped clinical practitioners and commissioners explore innovative case studies and digital tools to enhance condition-specific and integrated long-term condition (LTC) services.

The session was particularly valuable for clinicians, researchers, and commissioners working in ME/CFS services, as well as those in Long COVID care looking to expand their service offering to include ME/CFS support.

For access to the recording of the webinar, along with the slides, please get in contact with us at:
C19-YRS@elaros.com

We look forward to continuing these important conversations and driving innovation in digital health solutions for ME/CFS and Long COVID services.

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ELAROS host a ‘Building a Long Covid Service Legacy: Episode 2’ Webinar

Autonom-e — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:00:59 +0000

ELAROS host webinar on "Building a Long Covid Service: Episode 2"

On the 6th of November ELAROS hosted their second webinar in the ‘Building a Long Covid Service Legacy’ series to aid NHS services to support patients in primary, community, and care at-home across a range of long-term conditions.

This webinar is our 5th international webinar focused on supporting clinics, researchers, and most importantly, patients, with Long Covid and follows a recent episode back in June which focuses on sharing case studies from Long Covid services to inspire ideas on how to adapt the current NHS Long Covid offer to support a wider patient community.

We were joined by three excellent speakers:

Our first speaker was Lorraine Perry, Practitioner and Service Lead of the ME/CFS and Post Covid Assessment Services at the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Lorraine presented the plans at Somerset to deliver an integrated service for ME/CFS and Long Covid, and how the proposed integrated clinical pathway would play out.

A second presentation was given by Jeremy Gee, from Airedale and Bradford NHS Trust. Jeremy shared some case studies which showcased how Airedale is adapting its Long Covid model approach to serve the wider community of people with long term conditions. Jeremy spoke specifically about the success of their self referral process, supported by ELAROS, and how it has led to improvements in referral rates in more deprived areas as well as addressing disparity in referral rates based on gender and ethnicity.

Finally, Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research and Development at ELAROS, announced an invitation to English NHS Trusts to join a national service evaluation with The University of Leeds and the Clinical Post Covid Society and the launch of a standalone version of our C19-YRS app for the public.

Colleagues can contact us at c19-yrs@elaros.com to request access to the recording and slides from this webinar.

You can learn more about the speakers from the event below or on the teams page:

Lorraine Perry, Practitioner/Service Lead ME/CFS & Post Covid19 Assessment Services, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Jeremy Gee, Long Covid Clinical Pathway Co-ordinator and Community Advanced Practitioner, Airedale and Bradford NHS Foundation Trusts

Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research and Development at ELAROS 24/7, Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Leeds

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ELAROS to host “Building a Long Covid Service Legacy” webinar on 26th June

Autonom-e — Sun, 05 May 2024 13:44:48 +0000

ELAROS to host upcoming webinar "Building a Long Covid Service Webinar" on 26th June

Eventbrite registration page

Attend this webinar and learn how NHS MDT services are evolving to build a legacy from Long Covid to support patients in primary, community, and care at-home across a range of conditions.

During this webinar we invite Jeremy Gee from Airedale and Bradford NHS Trusts to share insights into how their Long Covid Rehabilitation service is evolving to support: i) self-referrals, ii) a persistent symptoms service, and iii) vocational rehabilitation in stroke. This digital-first service is currently conducting pilots in these three areas to adapt the learnings from their Long Covid Service first launched in 2020 to support a wider patient group.

A second presentation will be given by Professor Manoj Sivan, President of the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (BSPRM) and the newly established Post COVID Society in collaboration with NHS England to share his aims for the new professional clinical society for Long Covid and post-viral conditions.

The webinar will be chaired by representatives from ELAROS 24/7 Ltd and University of Leeds; developers of the digital C19-YRS clinical research platform recommended by NHS England, NHS Scotland, and adopted internationally; to share case studies from other NHS Long Covid services and organisations who are adapting their approach to support patients with other chronic conditions and harder-to-reach groups in the community.

This webinar is aimed at healthcare professionals supporting patients with Long Covid and other chronic conditions such as chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and PoTS, as well as professionals working in Public Health, General Practice, Rehabilitation Medicine and associated research.

Registered attendees will be sent an event invitation nearer the time.

Recordings of the webinar can be shared with those who register but are unable to join on the day.

For further enquiries, contact the organiser: c19-yrs@elaros.com

Confirmed speakers:

Professor Manoj Sivan, Professor and Honorary Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Leeds & Leeds NHS Trusts, President of the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (BSPRM) and Post Covid Society. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-manoj-sivan-md-bba92143/

Jeremy Gee, Long Covid Clinical Pathway Co-ordinator and Community Advanced Practitioner, Airedale and Bradford NHS Foundation Trusts LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-jez-gee-9ab4b2a5/

Román Rocha Lawrence, Director of Research and Development at ELAROS 24/7 Ltd, Honorary Research Fellow at University of Leeds. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roman-rocha-lawrence/

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NHS Highland first in Scotland to adopt digital C19-YRS

Autonom-e — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 12:00:00 +0000

The Press and Journal Evening Express announce adoption of digital C19-YRS in NHS Highland - 'I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones': New Long Covid service in Highlands gives hope for patients

Published on the 1st December 2022

Kirstie’s Story

Kirstie was left with “debilitating and frustrating” symptoms when she fell ill with long Covid. One of the worst problems was brain fog. Finding words suddenly became an issue and she struggled to concentrate or remember things. Even cooking dinner for her family – a simple task she’d previously done without too much thought – became a challenge. Juggling the different timings and pans was just too much for her brain to cope with.

‘I was gasping for breath’

Kirstie, who works as a radiographer at Raigmore Hospital, had Covid for the first time on Christmas Day and and has not fully returned to her normal self since. But she has been getting help from staff working in the long Covid service at NHS Highland which, she says, has made a “huge difference” to her life. It’s the first health board in Scotland to use the C19-YRS (York Rehab Scale) app which helps staff triage patients and can direct them to lots of self-management resources. After catching Covid, the 39-year-old was not fit enough to go back to work and was referred to the service in March.

“My heart rate was up to 130bpm just walking up one flight of stairs and I was gasping for breath,” she explains. “I was starting to get problems with chest pain and chest tightness if I was doing anything that got me really out of breath. “I had tingling in my fingers and also a shake, a tremor, and the fatigue was just awful.”

New long Covid service: ‘Things can get better

But Kirstie, of Inverness, was determined to get better. She was taught coping mechanisms at the long Covid service along with techniques to improve her breathing. She learned that it was important not to push herself and do too much.

Staff at the service also explained that both her brain and body needed to get enough proper rest. It’s been a long journey for the mum-of-two but, with the help of the service, she now feels 90% better. After going back to work full-time, she’s now studying for a promotion to be an advanced radiographic practitioner. “Things can get better,” she says. “It does take a long time but there is help out there, there are resources and techniques to help you improve your symptoms. “I do feel like I’m one of the lucky ones because there are some people who got Covid two-and-a-half years ago and they’re still struggling.”

‘I smelled of cigarette smoke – even though no-one smokes in our home’

Roselyn’s Story

Physiotherapist Roselyn Celestial has also benefited from the new long Covid service after experiencing a “scary” battle with long Covid. “I had a continuous cough,” she says. “It did not stop and it kept me awake at night. “Then I started to feel it was hard to breathe. “And the weird thing was that I felt I smelled of cigarette smoke and there is no-one who smokes at home.”

The mum-of-two underwent tests booked in by her GP to see why she had problems with breathing after she fell ill last September but everything came back clear. “I had to look for an answer because I was struggling,” she says. “And it was scary, because there were times where I felt that I had to call an ambulance because I could not breathe.” She eventually got advice from the British Lung Foundation and booked another appointment with a different GP.

‘I need a stick now for stability’

Roselyn was then referred to the new NHS Highland service for long Covid sufferers. She was taught breathing techniques and staff showed her ways to manage her energy levels better. Learning about how much energy the brain uses to carry out certain tasks, or even just reading, also helped.

She made small changes to her life and now listens to audiobooks instead. The Inverness mum was not able to work for several months until her symptoms stabilised enough for her to go back on a phased return. Even now she still has aches and pains in her body and struggles with fatigue but she has strategies in place to cope. “Before I had long Covid I used to walk my dog no problem and I would enjoy that,” she says. “Now I cannot do that and it’s frustrating. “Sometimes my dog looks at me as if to say ‘why are you not walking me?’ “My legs can get so fatigued and my knees feel like they’re going to buckle. I need a stick now for stability because of my leg pain.”

How does the new long Covid app work?

NHS Highland received funding this year to recruit an occupational therapist and physiotherapist to the new long Covid service. Care has been provided to NHS workers this year but a service has just launched for the public now that the new team is in post. Patients will be referred by their GPs and given access to the C19-YRS app which helps to assess and continually monitor their condition. Occupational therapist Vivian Scott has been using tools from the app with NHS workers suffering from long Covid who have been using the service this year.

“It is a really good tool,” she says. “And it has a wide range of educational resources that people will be able to access as well,” Vivian explains that patients experiencing the condition can be suffering from a range of more than 200 symptoms. Common symptoms include difficulties with brain fog, breathlessness and fatigue. “The recovery is really about people doing things differently,” she says. “Long Covid is a new medical condition and there’s no medical treatment so a lot of it is based on advice and technique.”

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ELAROS and Leeds NHS Trusts win the Outstanding Collaboration with Industry award at the national AHSN Network Innovate Awards

Autonom-e — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 12:05:16 +0000

ELAROS, Leeds Community Healthcare, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust win the Outstanding Collaboration with Industry award at the national AHSN Network and NHS Confederation Innovate Awards

ELAROS is thrilled to announce that we, alongside our partners from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, have been awarded the Outstanding Collaboration with Industry award at the first AHSN Network and NHS Confederation ‘Innovate Awards’.

The award was for our work on “The world’s first validated digital system for the initial assessment, triage, management, monitoring, and rehabilitation of patients with Long COVID”.

The whole team at ELAROS are grateful to have been nominated for this award, and that we were able to attend the awards ceremony alongside so many amazing organisations, both from within and without the NHS. The ELAROS team picked up the award on behalf of the wider Leeds Long Covid Rehab Team and ELAROS partnership.

To view the winners and nominations for all categories from the 2022 awards, click the link here to the Innovate Awards webpage.

You can see a press release on The University of Leeds page here: https://locomotion.leeds.ac.uk/news/elaros-win-collaboration-with-industry-award/

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BBC North West feature ELAROS C19-YRS in Salford

Autonom-e — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:30:53 +0000

BBC North West feature ELAROS' C19-YRS in Salford

Northern Care Alliance NHS Group report the successes of the digital C19-YRS platform

The Northern Care Alliance NHS group (NCA) has published an article detailing some of their experiences of using the Covid-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS).

All of the quotes in this article are taken from the original NCA press release which can be found here.

You can also watch the full BBC North West News Item from the 3rd September 2021 from the 3rd September here.

The NCA has worked with Salford city council to support members of their community suffering from long-COVID. Their team relied on manual screening using the paper version of the C19-YRS prior to the release of the digital version. However the rising numbers of patients in need of support with long-COVID precipitated a need for a more efficient solution.

The release of the digital C19-YRS has meant that “patients will be able to download an app onto their mobile device and update their progress at varying stages of their recovery, allowing their clinician to make any changes to their care management plan.”

This has been the intended purpose of the C19-YRS throughout development, and the testimonials from Salford Royal and Salford’s Single Point of Access team demonstrate the success of the system.

Patient attitudes towards the digital C19-YRS have been very positive, with Taruna Patel from Salford’s Single Point of Access team stating that “Our patients are very keen to use the app as another tool. By inputting the information themselves, they will be able to see how their health is improving over time and use the information to form a discussion with their clinician, as well as to show their family.”.

A patient from Salford stated that “I found the app easy to download and very user friendly. I’m looking forward to using it more and I’m intrigued as to the next step, hoping it will help me to get the right support and care.”

The benefits the digital C19-YRS had for the NCA extend don’t just impact patients, and the staff have also felt an easing in the burden of Long-COVID management. “Previously we were making calls and asking people around 30 questions over the phone with the varying responses. It was quite tiring for patients and time consuming, particularly those with severe long-COVID symptoms.”.

Further advantages with the digital system have also been appreciated by the team at Salford, such as improved communication with the Long-COVID Clinic Team, which has allowed them to decide on the “length and type of appointments…to match the needs of the patient.”.

The NCA report also touches on some of the research that is being undertaken using the C19-YRS platform by researchers from the University of Leeds. This is the NIHR funded LOCOMOTION study, led by Professor Nawar Bakerly. The NCA has stated that the digital C19-YRS will allow them to “contribute to national and local research” and Sarah Cannon of Salford PCT believes that the digital C19-YRS “will also help with reporting data required for long COVID at a national level.”

The digital C19-YRS is developed by ELAROS in a partnership with the University of Leeds, Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trusts, with support from our software developers, Pipe and Piper.

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