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
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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
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This is the first paper to show that reduced attendance was proportionate across different deprivation and ethnicity groups.
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We show that presentations of children with infectious diseases reduced more than those with other conditions or trauma.
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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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