The Influencers: Peter Townsend

Look after others

What a bizarre year 2021 was. In its aftermath, many of us, during some well-deserved and much needed time out, will have reflected on the year past, and what it has meant to us all.

Very few would have anticipated the way things played out. The race to vaccinate as many as possible in anticipation of the inevitable arrival of Covid-19 in our community has been a remarkable shift from the determined elimination strategy that was playing out earlier in the year.

The change in dynamics in our communities and the ramifications for healthcare are enormous, and not yet fully understood.

What is clear, as we embark on 2022, is that the game is going to continue to change and we will be faced with new and difficult challenges. Ensuring members of our wider community, and particularly the most vulnerable members, are well protected is essential.

The additional pressures faced by the health system will have wider consequences on the delivery of all health services.

This puts us all under an obligation to do what we can as individuals to keep the pressure off the system by really looking after ourselves, actively pursuing wellness, and taking time out to take extra care of the most vulnerable in our community.

Those sound to me like great goals for 2022.