Institute of Fiscal studies 9 April 2020
- We discuss likely implications for healthcare delivery in the short and medium term of the responses to the coronavirus pandemic, focusing primarily on the implications for non-coronavirus patients.
- We first set out the amount of planned and unplanned hospital care that we might expect to take place in the absence of the pandemic and describe how this activity varies across age, socio-economic status and place. We then discuss how the amount and quality of care could be affected. To do this, we draw primarily on past data on NHS activity in England to understand who is most likely to be affected by these changes and evidence from previous research on the impacts of sudden changes in the demand for, and supply of, healthcare.
