Covid 19

Health and Care Economics Cymru is playing a key role in policy support, helping to consider the cost-effectiveness of what we spend public money on and how we use scarce resources during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

To see some related Covid 19 Articles see below:

Our contribution to COVID-19 recovery

Funded COVID-19 studies

Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre

We are working closely with our partners and stakeholders to help understand the challenges and economic impact of the pandemic locally, nationally and internationally.

Never before have we appreciated our NHS and care organisations more than during the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this has also brought into sharp focus that our health and care resources are limited. Difficult decisions must be made about how to get the most benefit from the available resources for the people of Wales.

For so many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the working environment. We have adapted well to the changes and it is business as usual for most of our activities. We have been working closely with our collaborators in some of the challenges faced by COVID-19 (e.g. research trials have been paused during the pandemic) but also sought out many opportunities to use our skills and expertise to address some of the key questions that COVID-19 has brought on the health and economic impact to Wales and beyond.

Examples of our activities include:

Providing policy support

Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards worked with Dr Brendan Collins (Chief Health Economist to the Welsh Government) on his modelling of mass testing in Merthyr Tydfil and the surrounding area. She also was a member of a group of economists supporting the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales to investigate and mitigate potential future scarring of the Welsh economy.
Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards and Professor Deb Fitzsimmons joined the UKRI/NIHR College of Experts to help to rapidly assess grants, often delivering multiple reviews within 48 hours of receipt.
Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards, Dr Pippa Anderson and Dr Berni Sewell were also on a register of experts to support Welsh Government in its response to COVID-19.

Providing evidence on the safety of treatments for COVID-19

Professor Dyfrig Hughes has been selected as a member of the UK COVID-19 Therapeutics Taskforce. The Taskforce will oversee the identification, development and deployment of safe and effective treatments.
Research by Professor Dyfrig Hughes on treatment of chloroquine poisoning has provided important evidence on the safety of treatments that are being tested for use in COVID-19.

Collaborating with our partners and stakeholders and contributing health economics expertise to grant submissions

Research proposals submitted to COVID-19 calls across UKRI and NIHR funding platforms to support bids with other research groups to investigate the impact of the immediate crisis on the people and economy of Wales and the wider harms and unintended consequences of COVID-19.

For more information about our other recent events, see our News page.

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