PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Marta Wanat
AU  - Melanie Hoste
AU  - Nina Gobat
AU  - Marilena Anastasaki
AU  - Femke Böhmer
AU  - Slawomir Chlabicz
AU  - Annelies Colliers
AU  - Karen Farrell
AU  - Maria-Nefeli Karkana
AU  - John Kinsman
AU  - Christos Lionis
AU  - Ludmila Marcinowicz
AU  - Katrin Reinhardt
AU  - Ingmarie Skoglund
AU  - Pär-Daniel Sundvall
AU  - Akke Vellinga
AU  - Theo JM Verheij
AU  - Herman Goossens
AU  - Christopher C Butler
AU  - Alike van der Velden
AU  - Sibyl Anthierens
AU  - Sarah Tonkin-Crine
TI  - Transformation of primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: experiences of healthcare professionals in eight European countries
AID  - 10.3399/BJGP.2020.1112
DP  - 2021 Aug 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - e634--e642
VI  - 71
IP  - 709
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/71/709/e634.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/71/709/e634.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract2021 Aug 01; 71
AB  - Background Primary care has a crucial role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic as the first point of patient care and gatekeeper to secondary care. Qualitative studies exploring the experiences of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic have mainly focused on secondary care.Aim To gain an understanding of the experiences of European primary care professionals (PCPs) working during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design and setting An exploratory qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews in primary care in England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Greece, and Sweden, between April and July 2020.Method Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed, and analysed using a combination of inductive and deductive thematic analysis techniques.Results Eighty interviews were conducted with PCPs. PCPs had to make their own decisions on how to rapidly transform services in relation to COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 care. Despite being overwhelmed with guidance, they often lacked access to practical training. Consequently, PCPs turned to their colleagues for moral support and information to try to quickly adjust to new ways of working, including remote care, and to deal with uncertainty.Conclusion PCPs rapidly transformed primary care delivery despite a number of challenges. Representation of primary care at policy level and engagement with local primary care champions are needed to facilitate easy and coordinated access to practical information on how to adapt services, ongoing training, and access to appropriate mental health support services for PCPs. Preservation of autonomy and responsiveness of primary care are critical to preserve the ability for rapid transformation in any future crisis of care delivery.