Hey Cong Ying
Internal Medical Trainee Department of Cardiology, Royal Papworth Hospital, Papworth Road, Cambridge, CB2 0AY.
Br J Cardiol. 2022 Aug 30;29(3):27. doi: 10.5837/bjc.2022.027. eCollection 2022.
Disparities in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are among the leading health and social care concerns in the UK. The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to health services has further placed cardiovascular care and the respective patient communities at the sharp end, not least in exacerbating existing health inequalities across service interfaces and patients' health outcomes. While the pandemic engenders unprecedented constraints within established cardiology services, it conduces to a unique opportunity to embrace novel transformative approaches within the way we deliver patient care in maintaining best practices during and beyond the crisis. As the first step in navigating toward the 'new norm', a clear recognition of the challenges inherent in cardiovascular health inequalities is critical, primarily in preventing the widening of extant inequalities as cardiology workforces continue to build back fairer. We may consider the challenges through the lens of health services' diverse facets, including the aspects of universality, interconnectivity, adaptability, sustainability, and preventability. This article explores the pertinent challenges and provides a focused narration concerning potential measures to foster equitable and resilient cardiology services that are patient centred in the post-pandemic landscape.
心血管疾病发病率和死亡率的差异是英国主要的健康和社会护理问题之一。新冠疫情对医疗服务的干扰进一步使心血管护理及相关患者群体处于风口浪尖，尤其是加剧了不同服务界面之间现有的健康不平等以及患者的健康状况差异。虽然疫情给现有心脏病学服务带来了前所未有的限制，但它也带来了一个独特的机会，促使我们在危机期间及之后提供患者护理的方式上采用新颖的变革方法，以保持最佳实践。作为迈向“新常态”的第一步，清楚认识到心血管健康不平等所固有的挑战至关重要，主要是在心脏病学工作人员继续努力建立更公平服务的过程中，防止现有不平等的扩大。我们可以从医疗服务的多个不同方面来考虑这些挑战，包括普遍性、相互关联性、适应性、可持续性和可预防性。本文探讨了相关挑战，并重点讲述了在疫情后以患者为中心促进公平且有韧性的心脏病学服务的潜在措施。
