The impact of COVID-19 on the travelling community in primary care.

Abstract

The travelling community has historically struggled to achieve equal access to health care. They have a higher prevalence of disease, lower literacy rates, poor health education, and are burdened with significant rates of poverty.1 This has been a longstanding challenge in primary care, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a lack of research and discussion within the medical profession in addressing this ethnic minority. The recent pandemic has highlighted disparities between different ethnic communities and their health outcomes. However, the travelling community has largely been neglected from the conversation. The pandemic has driven a review into primary care practices. There has been a greater emphasis on telecommunications and platforms such as AccuRx in order to consult. While telephone consultations have not proved entirely unpopular, the use of alternative forms of communication can disproportionately disadvantage Travellers. The success of the …