{"id":4774,"date":"2021-01-25T12:33:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T11:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ehma.org\/?p=4774"},"modified":"2023-01-21T20:11:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T20:11:55","slug":"preserving-elective-surgeries-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ehma.org\/preserving-elective-surgeries-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Preserving elective surgeries during COVID-19: lesson learnt from 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
BLOG POST WRITTEN BY ALEKSANDRA KRYGIEL-NAEL, EMEA ACTING HEAD OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS & POLICY FOR MEDICAL DEVICES, J&J, LINKED TO THE EHMA WEBINAR ON ‘PRESERVING ELECTIVE SURGERIES DURING COVID-19<\/a>‘<\/h5>\r\n

The COVID-19 crisis has put a spotlight on health systems and exposed their vulnerabilities. It has brought together stakeholders including governments, academia & researchers, hospitals & healthcare providers and industry to work together on solutions at an unprecedented scale, which we all hope may help save lives and prevent greater human suffering in 2021.<\/p>\r\n

The devastating consequences of this crisis are clearly broad and heavily impact non-COVID patients. Unfortunately, many patients face delayed access to prevention & screening programmes, surgeries, and other treatments. As many have said, \u2018the COVID crisis is a marathon, not a sprint<\/em>\u2019, so we need to draw learnings from 2020 and do our best in ensuring optimal healthcare for all patients in 2021.<\/p>\r\n

Delayed access to surgeries for non-COVID patients<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n

During the initial outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, many European hospitals suspended surgeries and hospital treatments in hope of reducing infection rates and preserving resources for COVID-19 patients.<\/p>\r\n

The postponement of elective surgeries and hospital treatments has resulted in a backlog of procedures with ongoing delays due to the overall diminished capacity of health systems. The current situation is quite diverse in many European countries and regions but all countries face serious challenges to healthcare delivery.<\/p>\r\n

It is important to consider the consequences of such delays in surgeries and treatments. There are concerns that delayed treatment of conditions because of pandemic-related cancellations will lead to deterioration in individual patients\u2019 health, quality of life and ability to work and contribute to society, which at a collective scale may cause substantial societal burden and economic impact. Therefore, catching up the backlog in a safe manner should be seen as an investment in citizen\u2019s health and well-being as well as in the economy, rather than a drain on finances.<\/p>\r\n

On Monday, 18 January 2021, EHMA hosted a webinar on this topic<\/a>, discussing the lessons learnt from the pandemic from three different country perspectives: the Netherlands, the UK, and Italy. Let\u2019s consider some of the main points raised by the panellists on how treatments and elective surgeries can safely and effectively be preserved or resumed:<\/p>\r\n

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    Overcoming the most critical moments of the pandemic and preventing further delays:<\/strong><\/h5>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Effective strategies to anticipate potential delays at the most critical moments of the pandemic are important and should identify early interventions to resume treatments as soon as possible. Among the safest and most effective measures to achieve this, the panellists highlighted:<\/p>\r\n