General practice post-COVID-19: time to put equity at the heart of health systems?

As with most diseases, COVID-19 has hit the poorest and most vulnerable in society the hardest. In the UK, people living in the most deprived areas have twice the mortality rate from COVID-19 as those in the least deprived areas. They face increased exposure to the disease and have been most affected by the wider unintended consequences of social distancing measures and the economic downturn. Furthermore, the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on people from black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities is partly explained by socioeconomic disadvantage. And all of this is in the context of a decade of widening social and health inequalities.

Yet, through this adversity, there is hope and opportunity: the pandemic offers a ‘compassion window’ of societal, political, and professional awareness and willingness to act, and general practice has a key role to play in putting equity at the heart of our health system renewal.