Pandemic threatens primary care for long term conditions

Abstract

During the height of the covid-19 pandemic, attention was diverted away from primary care's key roles in early detection of disease and management of long term conditions. However, the core primary healthcare functions of accessible first contact, comprehensiveness, coordination, continuity, and person centredness were challenged even before this. 1 General practices' workloads have steadily risen in the past decade. In England between 2010-11 and 2019, the overall number of consultations per registered patient each year rose from 4.29 to 5.17 2 3 in a growing population.

Ensuring the continuation of routine primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a review of the international literature

“… 21 , 22 , 31 As with chronic care, disruption to these lifesaving activities has important health implications including avoidable illness and potential resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases. 5 , 37–39 Interruptions to routine care during the pandemic have been reported by other studies, 1 , 4 , 40 which underscores the need to strengthen primary care capacity to promote access to a broader range of regular health services during pandemics, and to reduce the potential harmful effects of delayed care on patients, providers, and primary care systems.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant demands on health systems globally, resulting in the diversion of health resources away from routine primary care delivery to address the pandemic. 1–5 This disruption of health services has necessitated new models of care to ensure continuity of regular care provision. 6–8 Although several studies have examined primary care responses to COVID-19, 9–11 there is limited evidence regarding adaptations to models of care and challenges associated with reconfiguring service delivery.…”

Should vaccination for healthcare workers be mandatory?

“…Remote consultations are also likely to continue, not only during the pandemic but even when we are back to some form of normal working. 13 A mandatory COVID-19 vaccination programme could be seen as discriminatory and may cause stigmatisation, further loss of trust and overall widen the inequalities already seen during the pandemic. We should at all costs avoid mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers until we get further information on the vaccine that addresses the concerns of healthcare workers.…”

“…Remote consultations are also likely to continue, not only during the pandemic but even when we are back to some form of normal working. 13…”

Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 62 No. 1s1 (2021): Health Technology Assessment (HTA) sull’introduzione di coorti aggiuntive per la vaccinazione contro il meningococco con vaccini quadrivalenti coniugati in Italia

“…Di nodale importanza in questo processo è il coinvolgimento di personale sanitario di comunità [ 4 , 5 ] in particolare degli Infermieri di Famiglia e di Sanità Pubblica [ 6 , 7 ]. Nuovi modelli assistenziali che prevedano il coinvolgimento di personale infermieristico con competenze e ruoli avanzati [ 8 , 9 ] e l’inclusione della tecnologia nell’assistenza sanitaria [ 9 , 10 ] potrebbero migliorare gli outcome di salute delle persone [ 9 ]. Se da un lato, tali modelli assistenziali avrebbero il potenziale di contrastare le difficoltà dettate dalla pandemia, dall’altro avrebbero anche la capacità di affrontare le moderne sfide di salute.…”