Nearly half the public delayed or avoided seeking GP help last year – poll

Dr Macarena Staudenmaier, head of clinical product and operations at Simplyhealth, said: “The fact that nearly half of UK adults are delaying care they need is a stark reminder that breaking down barriers to accessing healthcare has never been more urgent.

“While these barriers, such as cost, accessibility and ease-of-use persist, we’re seeing preventable conditions quietly become serious ones.

“The truth is that by the time someone finally seeks help, what could have been a straightforward conversation with a GP can become something far more complex, and costly, both for the individual and their employer, as well as the wider health system.

“Employers have a more important role to play than many realise.

“Providing employees with flexible, accessible health benefits, including 24/7 access to a GP service, can remove a significant part of the friction that causes people to delay.

“When someone can speak to a clinician at a time that works for them, without navigating a phone queue at 8am, they do.

“And early intervention makes all the difference.

“However our research last year found that a third (34 per cent) of British workers don’t use their workplace health benefits at all, while over half (53 per cent) that do use them have experienced barriers to accessing them, including needing to ask for line manager approval (16 per cent), seeking pre-authorisation from an insurer (13 per cent), or finding the process overly complicated (13 per cent).

“Investing in employee health is not just a benefit for employees – it’s also good for business and the wider healthcare system, helping to reduce absence, retain talented employees, support performance and reduce pressure on healthcare services.”