The Covid-19 pandemic has, in many ways, been healthcare’s finest hour. Clinicians performed miracles as they battled to understand a new disease, learning as they went along the techniques and approaches that gave patients the best chance of survival.
But, for all this quiet heroism, the crisis also turned a harsh spotlight on the deficiencies of health systems. In the west, at least, the burden of infectious disease has receded in recent decades and, as populations have aged and obesity has become a global scourge, the focus of many policymakers has been on the importance of primary care and prevention services.
Covid underlined the crucial role a well-resourced secondary care sector must continue to play. And, in the process, it revealed fundamental problems in the way some hospitals are laid out and equipped — while raising questions over whether staff have the skills they need to navigate this new pandemic era.