Nearly half of adults in the UK are delaying or avoiding contacting their family doctor when they are ill, primarily due to concerns about difficulty securing an appointment. A recent survey reveals that , 48% of individuals did not consult their GP – either initially or at all – when experiencing illness in the past year.
The findings, conducted by Ipsos for the Health Foundation thinktank, underscore a growing public apprehension regarding access to essential NHS services, including general practice, A&E departments, hospital treatment, and ambulance response times. Among those who opted not to seek medical attention, 30% did not anticipate being offered a suitable appointment, while 17% perceived contacting their practice as simply too difficult. A significant proportion – 27% – chose to self-manage their ailments or wait for symptoms to resolve, a practice that clinicians caution could potentially lead to delayed diagnoses and worsened health outcomes.
“General practice is the front door of the health service, and all patients should be able to see their GP when they need to,” stated Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, chair of the Royal College of GPs. “So it is worrying to hear that some might be delaying or avoiding seeking care because they think getting an appointment will be difficult.”
This hesitancy to seek timely medical care extends beyond primary care. Separate polling by Savanta, carried out last month for the Liberal Democrats, found that a third of Britons have refrained from visiting A&E in the past two years despite needing treatment, citing anticipated lengthy wait times as the primary deterrent.
The current pressures on general practice are well-documented. Analysis from the British Medical Association (BMA) highlights years of underinvestment as a key factor, leading to challenges in recruiting and retaining GPs to meet increasing patient demand. This strain manifests as longer wait times for patients and a shift in healthcare service patterns, with a corresponding rise in the utilization of urgent care, A&E, and NHS 111.
The Health Foundation’s survey also revealed broader pessimism regarding the state of the NHS. Only 32% of respondents believe the NHS currently provides a good service nationally. 42% perceive a deterioration in the standard of NHS care over the past year, with only 12% reporting an improvement. Looking ahead, 47% anticipate a further decline in NHS care over the next year, while a mere 15% expect positive change.
These findings are particularly concerning given the government’s plans to shift more healthcare services from hospitals into community settings. The Health Foundation suggests that policymakers may need to reassess these priorities in light of persistent public concerns about access to primary care and emergency services.
The public’s top priorities for the NHS remain improved access to GPs and A&E departments. This sentiment is echoed by Helen Maguire, a Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, who expressed concern that “Patients deserve so much better. It is heartbreaking to think of elderly people or parents with sick children sitting at home in pain because they have lost faith that the system will be there for them.”
In response to these challenges, Health Secretary Wes Streeting recently published the new GP contract for , aiming to improve access to care. The contract mandates that GP practices provide same-day appointments for patients with urgent medical needs and allocates £300 million in funding to enable surgeries to hire an additional 1,600 doctors.
However, the contract has drawn criticism from the British Medical Association (BMA). Dr. Katie Bramall, chair of the BMA’s GP committee, expressed concern that the new requirements for “unlimited same-day urgent care provision” are unrealistic, particularly alongside potential barriers to specialist referrals. She also criticized the Secretary of State for not negotiating the contract with the BMA, a practice that has been standard for many years. The decision to consult with a range of GP and patient bodies instead followed the BMA’s opposition to plans for increased online access to GPs during working hours.
The data underscores a critical juncture for the NHS. Addressing the underlying issues of workforce shortages, funding constraints, and access barriers will be essential to restoring public confidence and ensuring that patients receive the timely care they need. The current trend of delayed or avoided care carries potential risks for individual health and could exacerbate existing pressures on the healthcare system as a whole.
As of , data analysis by the BMA continues to monitor the strain on GP practices in England, utilizing both headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) data to assess workforce levels. FTE is considered a more meaningful metric as it reflects the total clinical hours available, with 1 FTE representing a full set of working hours.
