Adapting health and social care in the wake of COVID‑19

Context

The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the headlines in 2020, affecting almost every aspect of our lives and exposing multiple gaps in our health and social care systems.

The burden of COVID-19 stretches far beyond the disease itself. Its impact on health, wellbeing and economies will likely be felt for years to come. And the redeployment of healthcare services to combat the pandemic has interrupted public health prevention efforts and care for many people, including those living with chronic conditions.

But despite the devastation it has caused, the pandemic’s exposure of existing weaknesses in health and social care offers us an opportunity to focus political will on reinforcing our care systems.

In this think piece, published in June 2020, we look across some of the areas in which we are currently working to identify key strategic issues that will need to be addressed in post-pandemic plans and policies.

These issues are likely to linger as we emerge from this health crisis – and are applicable across many countries. They will need to be remedied if we are to protect the health and wellbeing of our populations and prepare our systems for any global health emergencies we may face in the future.