Cost of Living – new data from Healthwatch England

Healthwatch England’s new data shows that people are increasingly avoiding NHS appointments and prescriptions.

Healthwatch England are calling for urgent action from government and health and care services to ensure rising costs are not a barrier to healthcare.

From a poll taken in October and then repeated in December, the following results were found:

• The number of people who avoided an NHS appointment due to the cost of travel doubled to almost one in 10, 11%, in December, up from 6% in October.
• Over one in ten (11%) have avoided booking an NHS appointment because they couldn’t afford the associated costs, such as accessing the Internet or the cost of a phone call; up from 7% in October;
• 15% of respondents avoided going to a dentist because of the cost of checks ups or treatment, an up from 12% in October;
• And one in ten (10%) people have also avoided taking up one or more NHS prescriptions because of the cost, up from 6% in October;
• One in ten (10%) avoided buying over the counter medication they normally rely on, up from 7% in October.

Read more on the Healthwatch England webpage – Cost of living: People are increasingly avoiding NHS appointments and prescriptions | Healthwatch