The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing inequalities in the healthcare system and brought about new ones. It has shown us that people who are black or from an ethnic minority are more likely to suffer severely and die with COVID-19. It has been reported again and again that they are disproportionately affected. However, this is not new. Black women were already five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Black people experiencing mental health issues are four times more likely to be detained than their white counterparts. Therefore, COVID-19 isn’t a one off. Instead it has highlighted and bought attention to the inequality that already exists in healthcare by giving us a new example. We need policies and ideas that will address these inequalities and make healthcare equally successful for all.
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