Journal Articles

No return to the old normal?

Share this article

No return to the old normal?

David Gray, Jackie Stephen-Haynes, Ken Dunn, Michael Clark, Paul Chadwick, Steve Jefferies
27 September 2020

‘In the midst of a global pandemic it is challenging to look beyond the harrowing news of growing infections and deaths to consider the potential for looking anew at how healthcare is organised and delivered post-pandemic. However, reimagining of health services may be essential if we are to fully learn all the lessons taught by the global responses to COVID-19. Think back to March and April 2020 in the UK when sweeping changes were introduced at great pace to the NHS; the rapid construction of the Nightingale hospitals, the expanded use of personal protective equipment (PPE), the absence of hospital visitors and volunteers and the rise of implementation of digital technologies to remain in contact with colleagues and patients. All of these may have been unthinkable before the pandemic, but all were introduced almost overnight. We have seen that the NHS can change rapidly so how do we best harness this capacity for change to meet healthcare demands in a post-pandemic world?

Are you a healthcare professional? This website is for healthcare professionals only. To continue, please confirm that you are a healthcare professional below.

We use cookies responsibly to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your browser settings, we’ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on this website. Read about how we use cookies.

I am not a healthcare professional.