Table 1

Patient groups identified to be perceived as receiving better or worse care during the COVID-19 pandemic and respective reasons

Better care during pandemic
Patient group	Advantages
Presenting for minor problems	Fewer time constraints, easier access to the doctor
Presenting for regular check-up visits	Fewer time constraints
Worse care during pandemic
Patient group	Issues
Chronic health conditions, incl. asthma and allergies	Afraid to seek medical care or attend check-up visits, delayed adaptation of long-term medication
Children with neurological and developmental problems	Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy suspended for extended periods of time
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, social paediatrics	Suspended therapies, suspended social care visits; less reliably attending appointments
Children requiring further investigations offered in hospitals	Appointments unavailable
Families with high fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection	Afraid to seek medical care even if urgent