English
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has put to the test a public health system that was already in a critical state: hospital beds in short supply, no universal health coverage for primary care, and extensive entanglement of the public and private sectors, resulting in waiting times among the longest in Europe and inequality of access to health care. In an effort to hold back the “first wave” of the epidemic, the authorities put their faith in social and economic restrictions, the extension of universal access to primary care, and the drafting of private hospitals.
Keywords
- Ireland
- COVID-19
- State
- healthcare system
- hospital
- health inequalities
- health professionals
- shortages of medical equipment
- access to health care
- lockdown
