COVID-19 Disruptions to Health Care Access Linked to Higher Risk of Hospitalization, Study Finds

Undated file photo of ambulances lined up outside the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, England. Gareth Fuller/PA Media

Patients whose access to health care was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic are 80 percent more likely to be hospitalised, a study found.

According to the study, published in medical journal BMJ by researchers led by University of Liverpool lecturer Mark Green, more than a third of people (35 percent) in England were estimated to have experienced some disruptions to their access to health care, with disruption to an appointment being most common.