Equity in Paediatric Emergency Departments during COVID-19
Abstract
Children’s attendances in paediatric emergency departments have fallen precipitously in North East England and elsewhere in recent months. We analysed data from 3 hospitals to understand which children were not being brought during the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’. In our population there is no evidence of a disproportionate impact on children belonging to vulnerable sociodemographic groups and no obvious change in illness acuity among those children still attending. However we noted a marked reduction in infectious disease presentations which might reflect one positive impact of enhanced social distancing on child health. More granular data describing the ‘collateral damage’ of the COVID-19 pandemic to children’s clinical services are needed to plan for the mitigation of its continuing effects.
What is known on this topic
Presentations to paediatric emergency departments in Europe and the United States have reduced dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic ‘lockdown’.
What this paper adds box
This is the first paper to show that reduced attendance was proportionate across different deprivation and ethnicity groups.
We show that presentations of children with infectious diseases reduced more than those with other conditions or trauma.
There was no change in admission rates, taken as a broad indicator of illness acuity at presentation among the population still attending paediatric emergency departments.
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