Young people living with debilitating symptoms caused by long Covid have described feeling abandoned and having to “battle” to access NHS support.

Kaylee, 17, a once promising gymnast who hoped to represent her country, developed the virus on her 12th birthday and still experiences symptoms including dizziness and shortness of breath, causing her to miss school and give up on the sport she loves.

Two million people in the UK have long Covid, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Welsh government said it had increased the funding available to support people experiencing the long-term health effects of the virus.

Kaylee, from Cross Keys in Caerphilly county, vividly recalls being bed-ridden for three days when she was 12 after a sudden dizzy spell caused her to fall and hit her head.

She said doctors initially failed to identify the cause of her illness and she was not diagnosed until she was 13.

She said her symptoms included “dizziness, sometimes shortness of breath, there’s sluggishness, there’s pain in my chest and my ribs and I get brain fog sometimes”.

Kaylee’s mum, Sarah, said the initial mental and physical support Kaylee received from their local health board’s Post-Covid Recovery service was great.

But she said Kaylee had not seen a specialist NHS doctor for two years.

“I have tried to get in touch recently and didn’t get a response,” Sarah said.

“It’s really disappointing, I think [the clinicians] think they did everything they felt they could do – that she’s already been offered everything.”

For the past five years, Kaylee’s parents have been paying for her to receive specialist oxygen therapy in Bristol, which they said helped with Kaylee’s breathing and energy levels.