With winter approaching and Health and Care Secretary Wes Streeting describing the NHS as “broken but not beaten,” the call for consumers to practice self-care for minor ailments has never been more critical.
However, recent research conducted for PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, highlights a challenge: nearly a quarter (22%) of consumers do not consider self-care as their first choice for managing easily treatable conditions. This underscores the need for increased awareness and education on the importance of self-care in alleviating strain on healthcare services.
Room For Improvement
Michelle Riddalls, CEO at PAGB, says, “Although awareness of the benefits of self-care, for both consumers and the health service, has increased as a result of our educational outreach and activities such as Self-Care Week (18th-24th November 2024) there is still significant room for improvement.”
The PAGB data confirms that just under one in five people (18%) recalled seeing a news story or campaign promoting self-care in the previous year, with this rising to 29% for young adults (18 to 24 years).
And 72% said they were more likely to self-care as a result of seeing news coverage or campaign materials, with this rising to 79% among the youngest demographic. Michelle Riddalls adds, “This is encouraging as our research found that many younger adults lack the confidence to self-care that older adults possess.”
Just under a quarter (23%) of those aged 25 to 34, admitted they would try to secure a GP appointment for minor ailment or injury they could treat themselves, compared to just 9% of those aged 65 or older.
Huge NHS Savings
Michelle Riddalls says “The findings proves the power of awareness campaigns to deliver real change, and the need to get this right has never been as pressing. Huge numbers of people are struggling to access GP services and prolonged wait-times and corridor care are now the norm in many hospital A&E departments.
“Yet research by the analysts Frontier Economics, which we at PAGB commissioned, calculates that increased utilisation of self-care, and the easy-to-access expertise offered by high street pharmacies could save the NHS at least £1.7billion a year in avoidable appointments and prescription costs.”
The PAGB data also reveals the generation gap when it comes to confidence around self-care, with 59% of the 18 to 24-year-olds seeking a GP appointment being referred to a pharmacist, compared to 32% overall.
This age group is also far more likely to request a GP appointment to access free prescription medicines, with 52% saying this influenced their decision, compared to just 6% of over-60s.
It also raises some worrying questions around women’s ability to access care for conditions such as period pain and menopause symptoms.
Women’s Health Access Issues
More than half (57%) the women who had experienced menopause symptoms said they had found it impossible or difficult to get a GP appointment in the 2024 PAGB Self-Care Census. Similarly, 53% experiencing period pain had also struggled to access GP care.
Michelle Riddalls continues, “These challenges are often dismissed an inevitable part of being a woman, but the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence acknowledges that as many as half those who experience primary dysmenorrhea — the medical term for severe menstrual cramps and pain — miss at least one day of work or school each month.”
Mark Burdon, a pharmacist and advisor to PAGB adds, “I would encourage any woman in this position to speak to a pharmacist. These highly trained experts can provide advice on over-the-counter therapies and medicines which might help, and in some cases, they may refer you to another health service of professional.”
On the plus side, the 2024 PAGB Self-Care Census found that 69% of women felt they could access the information they needed to self-care for common women’s health conditions such as thrush, urinary tract infections and period pain.
Reassuringly, 68% used the NHS website to access information on healthcare, 43% sought information from their GP surgery and 38% from a pharmacist.
High Street Heroes
Pharmacy First is an example of an initiative developed to make the most of the expertise and ease-of-access that high street pharmacies provide. But Michelle Riddalls says, “We must do more to highlight the role these high street heroes can play in empowering patients to take more ownership of their healthcare and easing pressure on the NHS.”
In summary, Michelle Riddalls notes: “The appetite and consumer willingness to take a more proactive approach to self-care is there. Three quarters [77%] of the adults we surveyed agreed that we should all take more responsibility for our own health to ease the pressure on the NHS.”