The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and is now recommending that countries consider lifting their stringent public health measures in a phased manner while being mindful of the potential return of intense virus community transmission (WHO, 2020). Stay-at-home orders, together with other restrictions and the reorientation of health systems, come with a cost. The significant socio-economic impact is affecting many lives, as small- and medium-sized businesses fail and the loss of normal healthcare has interrupted the treatment and care of those with non-COVID-19 health problems (acutely unwell and serious long-term conditions, such heart disease, asthma, diabetes and cancer) (Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), 2020).
Difficult decisions need to be taken so that the long-term socio-economic and non-COVID-19 health consequences can be minimised. The future of the NHS depends on the UK having a strong economy to fund public services, and others' health should not be sacrificed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inevitably, the media will be full of the wisdom of many professors of hindsight and naysayers, rather than an informed discourse involving strategists, optimists, pragmatists and others drawing on the developing scientific knowledge of the novel virus and best practice for economic recovery. Indeed, many despair of the media's negativity, which has left the general population concerned and anxious about every aspect of their lives, such that primary care is trying to strengthen people's resilience by recommending the use of various psychological tools (Psychology Tools, 2020).
The NHS, including community nursing services, has demonstrated its flexibility and resilience to meet the health needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this success is celebrated and appreciated every week. However, it will be regrettable if the transformative delivery changes, such as the use of digital consultations (Baird, 2020) and the realignment and integration of services, are not progressed further so that the NHS is fit to meet all current and future health needs. Thornton (2020) has anticipated that the pandemic will bring about lasting change in general practice, both because GPs will think differently and because patients have demonstrated their ability to self-manage during the COVID-19 crisis.
It is most unfortunate that COVID-19 imperatives have sidelined the ongoing health needs of those with serious long-term health conditions because it may have shortened lives or reduced quality of life. Unsurprisingly, restarting normal healthcare provision is more challenging than closing down the services, despite some cancer and other treatment services having been relocated to COVID-Green independent hospitals to continue therapy regimens. Similarly, community services have been stretched, with those with ongoing needs sometimes receiving less support than previously, which has increased social isolation and loneliness for those living alone, especially when families and other visitors cannot enter homes as previously.
Difficult times means that difficult choices have to be made between the competing demands for healthcare of those with COVID-19 and those with non-COVID-19 health problems. Similarly, the containment of the pandemic in the UK requires individuals to accept responsibility for increased personal hygiene and some restrictions to their lives if the greater good is to be achieved for the whole population while potential treatments and a vaccine are identified.
‘… many despair of the media's negativity, which has left the general population concerned and anxious about every aspect of their lives.’