A third of people who recovered after suffering from severe Covid were readmitted to hospital within five months with complications including heart problems, diabetes and chronic liver and kidney conditions.
New research has shown the devastating long term impact of the virus with one in eight people dying within five months of diagnosis.
The University of Leicester and the Office for National Statistics found that out of 47,780 people discharged from hospital in the first wave, 29.4% were back in hospital within 140 days and 12.3% died.
Covid survivors were three and half times more likely to be readmitted to hospital and die compared to other conditions.
The study – which has not yet been peer reviewed – is believed to be the largest yet that looks at what happened to people discharged from hospital after Covid.
It indicates the overall death toll from the pandemic is far higher than the 89,261 deaths currently recorded.
Study author Kamlesh Khunti, professor of primary care diabetes and vascular medicine at Leicester University, told the Telegraph: ’People seem to be going home, getting long-term effects, coming back in and dying. We see nearly 30% have been readmitted, and that’s a lot of people. The numbers are so large.’
Professor Khunti said the findings show the NHS needs to introduce a monitoring system for those who leave hospital after having suffered from Covid.
He said people could be placed on protective drugs such as statins and asprins to try to stop them from developing serious conditions.
He said: ‘We don’t know if it’s because Covid destroyed the beta cells which make insulin and you get Type 1 diabetes, or whether it causes insulin resistance, and you develop Type 2, but we are seeing these surprising new diagnoses of diabetes.’
The Government currently registers a death as Covid-related if the patient dies up to 28 days after a positive test. There have been nearly 8,000 deaths by this measure in the last seven days.
In December, the ONS estimated one in 10 people who caught Covid went on to suffer long Covid with symptoms lasting three months or more.
These often include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath and problems with memory and concentration.
Responding to the study, Christina Pagel, director of the clinical operational research unit at University College London, tweeted: ‘This is such important work. Covid is about so much more than death. A significant burden of long-term illness after hospitalisation for Covid.’
Yesterday NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens revealed a new Covid patient is being admitted to hospital every 30 seconds with 15,000 new admissions since Christmas Day.
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