Helping you live well with long term health conditions
About the multisystem rehabilitation service
We support adults aged 16+ living with long term, multisystem conditions that affect daily life. These are conditions which typically cause widespread body symptoms.
Who we are
We have a multi-disciplinary team including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, psychological therapists, and rehabilitation assistants
We can also seek advice from specialist doctors in cardiology, respiratory medicine and rehabilitation medicine to ensure your care is safe and appropriate
What we do
Our focus is on rehabilitation and self-management, helping you live better with your symptoms, rather than pursuing further tests or medical cures.
We aim to help you understand your condition, regain confidence and live life as fully as possible.
Our approach
We offer a mixture of virtual programmes online as well as 1-to-1 appointments. These can be completed either face to face, via telephone calls, or virtually online. In some cases we may be able to offer home visits for housebound patients.
Once accepted onto our service you will be invited to a weekly webinar that offers advice for multiple different symptoms across a 7 week programme.
Who can benefit?
We may be suitable for you if you have:
a condition such as Long Covid or another post infectious condition, connective tissue disease causing multiple symptoms, or multiple problems after severe illness
several conditions causing combined effects, for example, hypermobility limiting walking, migraines interfering with daily life and IBS causing pain
ongoing symptoms despite good medical care, for example, severe fatigue with treated inflammatory arthritis.
Referrals
Referral can come from primary or secondary care. In either case referral should follow a comprehensive medical assessment, with diagnoses made and investigations completed. LeMuRS is a rehabilitation service. It would not be acceptable for a secondary care specialty to redirect referrals to LeMuRS without first making their own medical assessment.
We do not accept self referrals, unless you have been previously known to the Long Covid Rehabilitation service or LeMuRS then you are able to self re-refer via email or phone.
Once we accept your referral, you will be sent an opt in letter requiring you to call the team. We will then ask you to complete questionnaires via an app (paper copies available on request) as soon as possible as this is used to help us better understand your symptoms and establish how the team can support you.
First appointments
Once you have completed the questionnaires, you will be offered an appointment at one of our clinics in Leeds (Chapeltown, Seacroft, Armley, Parkside and Yeadon) in which a set of observations and measures are taken (for example, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels)
You will then be offered a virtual assessment, either within a group on MS Teams or as a 1 to 1 on the telephone. We will discuss your symptoms and the main problems you are experiencing as a result.
7 Week virtual course
Following this assessment, you will be invited to join a 7-week virtual symptom management programme. This provides both an education component and rehabilitation strategies for common symptoms, plus an opportunity to discuss your symptoms with other people with similar conditions.
After completing this programme, we will need you to complete the questionnaires again and you will be seen in clinic by a therapist for ongoing rehabilitation.
Interested in knowing more about the Leeds Multisystem Rehabilitation Service?
Do you have ideas on how the service could be improved? Do you want to be involved with ongoing research?
Our patient, carer and public involvement group helps make sure that the voice of people living with multi-symptom conditions is at the heart of our service.
Together, we have helped improve the patient journey, information, communication and support as well as raising awareness of the ongoing needs of people living with these long term conditions.
What’s involved?
Help us improve the service.
Take part in surveys, provide email feedback or attend our 4 to 6 weekly meetings.
Help us develop communication and information for people with long term health conditions and their carers or families.
Help us review service letters and leaflets.
Why should you get involved?
Receive updates on research, meet and hear from other people with long term health conditions and receive newsletters and updates from us
Opportunity to share your experiences, be involved with service improvement and research projects.
Help shape the future of the service!
What have we achieved so far?
Improved the patient journey by helping us make appointments more efficient and less physically demanding.
Made information clearer about benefit claims, PIP appeals and the evidence the service can provide.
Helped improve our letters, including discharge letters, so they better reflect each patient’s journey and achievements.
Created guidance to help patients access mental health support and explain their needs.
Reviewed and improved patient information, including leaflets and booklets.
Raised awareness of Long Covid through media, events and public speaking.
Made sure the patient voice was heard during important decisions about the future and funding of the Leeds service.
Helped challenge misunderstandings about Long Covid, including concerns around mental health diagnoses.
We appreciate that members ability to contribute may be reflective of their current health status and that can be variable. There is no minimum level of involvement required, be involved where you can, when you can.
If you have caring responsibilities for a family member/friend, such as helping with finances, personal care and domestic tasks, we appreciate that this can be stressful at times. If you, or someone who is caring for you, would like some information or support please contact:
