More than a third of Britons have avoided healthcare over the past year due to cost of living crisis

To determine whether the cost of living crisis has had an impact on healthcare in the UK, Patient Claim Line conducted a survey of 2,000 nationally representative Britons on their attitude towards healthcare in the face of this economic crisis.

The data highlights that the rising cost of everyday essentials is causing Britons’ budgets to become increasingly tighter, meaning that healthcare is being left to the wayside for many.

Out of the 36% of respondents who claimed that they have avoided accessing healthcare over the last 12 months due to the cost, only 22% stated that this lack of access had no effect on their well-being.

Of those who have avoided healthcare services in the past year to save money:

69% avoided the dentist

53% avoided the opticians

32% decided not to purchase prescription medication

21% cited travel costs as a reason to avoid healthcare

15% claimed that they don’t use lateral flow tests since they stopped being available for free

The survey uncovered that this conflict is hitting young people the hardest. Almost one in three (64%) of the 18-24 year olds who participated in the survey confessed that they have avoided healthcare in the last year to save money. That’s almost double the national average.Britons aged 65 and over are the most likely to forego seeing the dentist due to costs, with 81% of respondees within this demographic admitting to having swerved a dental checkup in the past year. However, both the 18-24 and 45-54 age demographics were most likely to avoid visiting the opticians, indicating that it is lower on their priorities.

18-24 year olds are also the most likely to see travel costs influence their ability to receive healthcare, with almost half of the survey participants from this age group (43%) citing this as a reason that they have avoided healthcare in the past year.

Half of those surveyed who are aged 65 and over claimed that their inability to access healthcare services due to the cost of living crisis impacted their health “a lot”, which was the highest response amongst all age brackets. Sadly, it appears that it is the welfare of the older generation that is most at risk in the cost of living crisis.

54% of survey respondents from Northern Ireland confirmed that the cost of living crisis had caused them to delay receiving healthcare, whilst 51% of West Midlands participants believed that a lack of access to healthcare had significantly impacted their health.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Patient Claim Line, Charlotte Rennox, said: “The cost of living crisis has left many Brits more mindful of how and where they spend their money, so it’s no surprise that even the essentials are facing cutbacks in order to make savings. It’s clear that healthcare is just one of the everyday necessities to take a hit, with both younger and older generations experiencing the effects of this in different ways.”

“We conducted this survey to get a better understanding of how people’s attitudes towards healthcare may have changed as a result of tightening budgets, and the results clearly show that in many cases, the cost of living crisis has not only led some to avoid or neglect vital healthcare services, but has ultimately had a direct impact on the physical and mental health of those who have had to make this difficult choice.“Our data indicates that rising costs and a lack of healthcare access are closely linked, with more than a third of survey participants claiming that they made the choice to avoid receiving healthcare as a direct result. Certain areas of healthcare have clearly been impacted by this more than others, with the dentist and the opticians being the most popular services to avoid. The survey also provides an insight into which age demographics have been affected the most by an inability to access healthcare, with almost one in three of the 18-24 year olds surveyed stating that they have made the decision to delay using these services because of the rising cost of living.

“Most worryingly of all, the data equally displays how a lack of access to healthcare has had a negative impact on people’s health, with 78% of those who have avoided healthcare due to the cost claiming that their health has worsened as a result.“No one should have to choose not to prioritise their health due to a lack of affordability, but anyone struggling with factoring healthcare into their budget can find further advice and support with covering these costs on the NHS website.”

Patient Claim Line, a leading medical negligence law firm, shared the findings to better understand how the cost of living crisis has impacted access to healthcare services in the UK.