The end of a difficult year draws nigh

As the end of a year draws nigh, it usually provides an opportunity to be able to review and reflect on what has taken place over the previous 12 months. What a year 2020 has been as we look back. At the end of 2019 no one could have foreseen or predicted what 2020 would bring. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned all of our lives upside down in terms of our home life, work life, social life and finances. Health-care professionals have worked tirelessly in difficult circumstances including working long hours, being redeployed to unfamiliar areas, being separated from family and contracting the virus themselves. as a result of the pandemic the area of public health has been thrust into the spotlight of health care.

While the virus has reached and infiltrated all of the population, it appears that those areas and groups worse affected by the virus are where health inequalities are the greatest. This is just not in terms of those who have contracted the virus and may be suffering long-term effects, but also from a financial perspective as many jobs have been lost in sectors of the economy where many who experience the greatest inequalities are employed.