More than a third of Brits have avoided contacting their GP due to long waiting times, new research has revealed.
Law firm Simpson Millar asked 1,000 UK residents what is stopping them from seeking help from their GP, and found that concerns around miscommunication, privacy, and poor care are common barriers to accessing medical support.
The study comes as spiralling waiting lists see one in 20 patients wait for more than four weeks for a GP appointment in the UK.
Difficulty contacting GPs is also a primary deterrent among patients, with 33 percent of people admitting that they gave up on requesting help after struggling to get in touch with their surgery.
Alarmingly, hostility from medical staff is the third most common factor preventing people from seeking healthcare. About 14 percent of the public – nearly one in six people – say that fear of not being taken seriously stops them from contacting their GP.
A further 13 percent of respondents cite the negative attitude of medical staff as the main reason for suffering in silence. These concerns are highest among 18-24-year-olds, 30 percent of whom are worried about being dismissed by doctors.
Women are also significantly more likely to feel judged by doctors than the opposite sex, with 19 percent of females avoiding their GP for this reason compared to 9% of males.
Patients’ fears of being brushed off by healthcare professionals are reflected in rising numbers of formal complaints about the issue.
NHS data shows that grievances categorised as “health concerns not taken seriously” have increased by 12 percent over the past year, including complaints to GP surgeries for ‘refusal to prescribe’, ‘refusal to refer’ and ‘refusal to visit’.
A reluctance to share private information over the phone is the next highest reason for avoiding the doctor. Findings show 10 percent of patients worry that disclosing sensitive medical details remotely to a call handler before speaking to their GP could be humiliating or lead to data leaks.
The other widely noted barriers to contacting the doctor indicate a concerning lack of faith in the efficiency and accuracy of GP services more generally.In addition, seven percent of Brits cite a fear of being incorrectly diagnosed as the main reason for avoiding their local surgery.
A further seven percent explain that they decided not to contact their GP after experiencing issues with inaccurate medical records.
This is closely followed by apprehensions around another administrative error, as six percent of those surveyed say that the possibility of receiving an incorrect prescription has prevented them from contacting the GP.
Reflecting on the findings, Kelly Withers, Senior Associate Solicitor at Simpson Millar, said: “GP negligence can have serious and far-reaching consequences, particularly if referrals do not happen or serious conditions, such as cancer, are missed.”
She added: “ We understand that it can be difficult to know where to turn but our survey results indicate that there could be a large number of people who have felt their medical issues were not taken seriously by their GP .”
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