Observational study assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on presentations and admission to hospital in children and young adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on healthcare utilisation and delivery for children and young adults. This is despite these groups experiencing minimal morbidity and almost no mortality as a direct result of the pandemic. The immediate impact of the first lockdown in April 2020 has been well documented. A number of studies show a marked reduction in presentations of children and young adults to the emergency department.

The question is now, are these trends continuing and are they particularly impacting on specific groups and on specific presentations? With these data, services can be modified to minimise any potential for deleterious effects. It may also be possible to target groups who are not utilising health services as the investigators would expect.

The investigators will use fully anonymised routine data on presentations and admission of 0 to 24 years olds to University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Data will be graphed to show trends in activity before and after the start of the pandemic. An interrupted time series regression analysis will be used to assess the significance of any changes in trends.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children and young adults aged 0 to 24 years
• Presented +/- admitted to the emergency department at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust between the 1st of April 2016 and 31st of March 2021

Exclusion Criteria: None

Children and young adults aged 0 to 24 years who have presented +/- admitted to the emergency department at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust between the 1st of April 2016 and 31st of March 2021. Some children presented to paediatric assessment unit prior to September 2019; after that the patient pathway was merged with the emergency department.

No ethics approval.