Express & Star comment: The hidden medical consequences of coronavirus

People are staying away in their droves, and that could have medical consequences some time down the line.

There has been a dramatic drop in the number of people booking in to see their doctor of roughly a third overall, but slightly higher than that across our region.

In Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin, numbers are 35 per cent down, and in places like Wolverhampton, Walsall, and Sandwell, we're talking about a 37 per cent fall.

Factor in the fall in the number of people going to hospital accident and emergency departments, and the inference is that as well as the community spirit that the current coronavirus crisis has created, there is also an upsurge in a grin-and-bear-it spirit among people who would normally be seeking a consultation or treatment.

It is not necessarily a bad thing for people to think twice about whether they need to access A&E or go to the doctor, as before the virus that was often a message being promoted to ease the strain on hugely overworked medical staff.

Now the pendulum has swung the other way with the prospect that non-coronavirus death rates could surge because people are putting off seeing a doctor when they really do need to see one. These would be indirect victims of coronavirus, punished because they thought they were trying to do the right thing by not adding to the workload of an NHS battling to cope with the pandemic tidal wave.

The NHS has pointed out that the figures may not tell the whole picture, and that GPs are not necessarily seeing fewer patients. Practices are changing the ways they operate, and GPs are adapting to the situation and embracing new technology, including phone and video consultations, to ensure that patients are still "looked at," but remotely.

The Government has already urged people not to be put off seeking medical advice, but if the perception is that it is difficult to see the doctor, by whatever method, it will deter some people from trying in the first place.

Smooth and reassuring words may come across well in those press conferences, but they need to be matched by smooth and efficient systems which are demonstrably working.