COVID-19 chart series The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has delivered a profound shock to the UK. We'll be exploring five dimensions of impact as they unfold – from the health and care system through to people’s daily lives

Even though the pandemic has many months to go, pressure is increasing to start planning for ‘after COVID’. The virus will have taken an uneven toll on an already unequal society. For services to meet people’s needs in the future, the stronger the evidence base, the better equipped they will be. The series of charts is intended to make a small contribution, and begin to make sense of the landscape left in COVID-19’s wake.

Direct impact of COVID-19

The first dimension is the direct impact of the virus itself, in terms of death and serious illness, including inequalities in who is most affected.

Impact on acute care

The second dimension of concern is the indirect impact on people with acute conditions not related to COVID-19. We will be tracking some of the big shifts in care and their impact, including postponed treatments, redeployed staff and drops in A&E usage.

Non-acute care including general practice

A third dimension of disruption will affect people with chronic conditions, or people needing less urgent care, which may have been interrupted. Understanding how this has affected access to general practice and other services will be critical.

The lockdown and social distancing

The fourth dimension will be the medium and long-term impact on health and health inequalities of the government interventions to restrict movement to curb the transmission of COVID-19.

NHS and social care capacity and resilience

The fifth dimension is the longer term impact on service capacity and resilience, including the impact on the workforce.