Millions of people are still trying to book GP appointments or attending their local Casualty department for minor ailments that they could more easily treat themselves.
That’s according to this year’s Self Care Census which was published by PAGB, the consumer healthcare association. The statistics collected reveal that just under 80% of adults think of self care as their first option when they suffer a minor or easily treatable injury. This overall statistic includes the fact that people in the over 65 year old bracket are more likely to visit their local pharmacy and use the skills and expertise that they have. This helps to reduce the pressure on the health service and make space for those patients who actually need to see a doctor for their medical care.
Around a quarter of those in the 25-34 year old bracket reveal they would attempt to get an appointment with their doctor for a treatable condition. This shines a light on the way younger people act and behave and makes them appear to be less adventurous and more needy. If we all managed to take care of ourselves when it comes to treatable conditions, the health service would be under a lot less strain and would be able to cope better during the times when we actually need it.
“This automatic-pilot reliance on primary care, particularly among younger consumers, is worrying and it shows there is still a lot of work to be done around educating consumers on the benefits of self-care.”
That’s according to Michelle Riddalls, CEO at PAGB
Michelle Riddalls adds, “Self-care doesn’t just make good sense, it’s integral to building a sustainable healthcare system for the future. As a report by the analysts Frontier Economics calculates, better use of self-care could save the NHS at least £1.7 billion a year in avoidable appointments and prescription costs.”
The results of the survey place further emphasis that we should all take on any kind of first aid training to ensure that we can take care of easily treatable injuries and therefore not piling the pressure on an already struggling health service. If we can get any sort of training to help treat ourselves, it will make us more independent and allow us to be available if anyone around us suffers a similar injury.
On the plus side, there is evidence that the additional training to upskill surgery staff, so they are able to prioritise patients who need GP care and redirect those with minor ailments to other healthcare professionals such as pharmacists, is working.[3] This latest PAGB report shows that 32% of patients were referred to a pharmacist by their GP practice or NHS 111.
However, there is still room for improvement, as the new PAGB research shows that 75% of GP appointments for self-treatable conditions resulted in advice to use an OTC medicine, a rise of 17 percentage points from the previous year. Shockingly, one in 13 people (8%) admit that A&E is their first choice of healthcare for conditions they could treat themselves.
Threadworm is the self-treatable condition that has prompted the most adults who have experienced it to visit A&E, with 14% going to a hospital emergency department instead of buying a simple and effective OTC treatment. This was followed by:
Sprains and strains: 8%
Ulcers: 8%
Thrush: 7%
Fever: 6%
Urinary tract infection (UTI): 5%
Acne: 5%
Ear infection: 5%
Cuts and open wounds: 4%, and
Conjunctivitis: 4%
Michelle Riddalls says, “In the majority of cases, consumers would have received treatment and symptom relief far more swiftly if they had sought advice from a pharmacist instead of trying to access a GP appointment, or attending A&E. Pharmacists are now able to provide many medicines over-the-counter which were formerly prescription-only and, in England, the Pharmacy First scheme means pharmacists can also provide prescription medicines for a number of common conditions such as UTIs, acute earache, sinusitis and shingles.
Mark Burdon, a pharmacist and advisor to PAGB, adds, “Pharmacists are often under-utilised as highly trained healthcare professionals, but they are an important pillar in the healthcare system, helping to protect NHS resources, as we can see by the number of patients that are being directed to our services.”
“Pharmacists are also well equipped to spot any red-flag symptoms which require further investigation, and if someone needs urgent care, we can alert GP surgeries so they can be fast-tracked through the practice triage system.”
The top ten conditions people are most confident of dealing with themselves are:
Colds: 70%
Coughs: 59%
Blocked nose: 58%
Headache: 57%
Sore throat: 53%
Bruises: 45%
Diarrhoea: 44%
Heartburn or indigestion: 42%
Allergies, such as hay fever: 41%
Flu: 40%
Michelle Riddalls explains, “Increasing switching of prescription-only medicines to pharmacy medicines not only improves people’s choice and access to their treatment, but it can also benefit the healthcare system more broadly.
“Greater availability of over-the-counter medicines means fewer GP visits, A&E interactions and the potential to prevent self-treatable conditions worsening with early intervention through self-care. For every 5% of total NHS prescribing and spending that could be switched to over-the-counter
