Access to Health Services by Children and Young People During the Covid-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has caused major changes in our daily lives. It has stopped us going to school or work, it has stopped us spending time with friends and family, and it has caused pain and grief as loved ones become seriously ill or die from the virus. It has also had an impact on how health services are provided to patients.

By health services we mean services such as:

• hospitals;
• doctors, dentists, pharmacists and opticians;
• nurses providing care and support to people in their own homes;
• school nurses;
• mental health services; and
• health centres and clinics.

There have been lots of patients with Coronavirus in hospitals and, as a result, some health services have not been provided or they have been provided in different ways. For example, seeing a doctor on Zoom using your iPad. However, the Welsh Government has always made it clear that if people need urgent treatment for a health care condition or because they are not feeling well, they should be able to get it. Within Welsh Government, a group of people is advising the NHS on how certain services called “Essential Services” can still be provided even during the pandemic.

They are interested in what experience children and young people have had accessing health services since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

They are asking a number of questions that aim to find out whether that experience was good or bad or somewhere in the middle. They won’t ask for your name and they are genuinely interested in your answers.

Your answers will help them to find out if children and young people have been able to access the services they need during this time.

Thank you.

Survey: Access to Health Services by Children and Young People During the Covid-19 pandemic (office.com)