In this episode I speak to Dr Marta Wanat who is a Senior Qualitative Researcher at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.

Paper: Transformation of primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: experiences of healthcare professionals in eight European countries

https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2020.1112

Previous qualitative studies exploring the experiences of healthcare professionals during the COVID- 19 pandemic have mainly focused on secondary care. This study explored the experiences of primary care healthcare professionals’ (PCPs) experiences of primary care transformation during the first peak of COVID-19 pandemic in England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Greece and Sweden. PCPs described rapidly adapting to new circumstances by making decisions in how to transform primary care delivery for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients, with limited training and resources. Flexibility and autonomy are necessary ingredients in primary care provision that should be preserved, coupled with provision of practical information on how to adapt services, ongoing training, and mental health support services for PCPs.