How has coronavirus affected healthcare systems around the world?

Last year, I focused my research on healthcare systems around the world, however since then, the pandemic has undoubtedly changed a lot of this. With Covid 19 taking the most priority in hospitals, many patients aren ’t getting the treatment that they need. So how have the best and the worst healthcare systems in the world coped with this? Why were some countries better at handling this healthcare crisis?

Finland (population approx. 5.5 million) is said to have the world’ s best healthcare system and just like England, there is no cost for healthcare as it is funded by the tax system. The local governments are responsible for offering their residents healthcare services. In 2002, there were more than 19,000 doctors in Finland and life expectancy has increased throughout the years, it’ s 81 years for women and 73 years for men. The first coronavirus case in Finland was diagnosed in a tourist in a holiday resort in Lapland on the 29th January 2020. Since then, Finland has been successful in restraining the pandemic, because compared to many other countries it arrived in Finland late, which allowed early implementation of restrictive regulations and recommendations.

Sierra Leone (population approx. 7.8 million) is the worst country in the world in providing healthcare to its citizens. This is mostly due to the fact that the country is still rebuilding after civil war, there is a shortage of qualified healthcare workers and a lack of funding. About 45% of the population is under 15 years old and the life expectancy is a very tragic 54 years.

Furthermore, about 60% of the rural population does not have sufficient access to clean drinking water. Another huge concern to the country is the life-threatening disease malaria. The first coronavirus case in Sierra Leone was diagnosed to a 37 year old man who travelled back from France on the 16th March 2020.

Since then, Sierra Leone has seen a little fewer than 1,700 positive cases, however community transmission and limited testing capacity means that this number is probably a vast underestimation. As a result of early and decisive action back in March, it was very crucial to keep hospitals open at a time when other facilities in Sierra Leone stopped taking new patients or were forced to close, due to positive cases among healthcare staff. A new process at the hospital’s main gate enabled the quick and safe isolation of suspected Covid 19 patients. This protected the rest of the hospital, keeping it open for thousands of people to continue to receive care.

The United States (population approx. 328 million) currently ranks highest in healthcare spending among the developed nations of the world. In the USA, the responsibility to provide medical care falls on the government, employers and individuals. In 2017, nearly 9% of the US population did not have health insurance of any kind, and they could pay a fine for this. The average life expectancy in the USA is about 78 years. On the 21st January 2020, the USA reported their first coronavirus case. Since then, the United States has reported 29.9 million cases and 543,000 deaths from coronavirus. Covid 19 is thought to be the United States ’ 3rd leading cause of death in 2020.

Overall, Covid 19 has had a significant impact on healthcare systems around the world. Whether it be delaying a patient’ s treatment or many thousands of deaths from the pandemic, different countries have been impacted in many different ways.

By Rhea Saran 3ACP