International Self Care Day: Empowering Patients Protects The NHS

The PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, has published a report called The Self-Care Census 2024 that shows millions of people are still using GPs and A&E services for conditions they could treat easily and more quickly with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.

The new research launched this International Self Care Day shows that only 78% of adults think of self-care as their first option for self-treatable conditions, with older adults in the 65-years-plus bracket far more likely to recognise the convenience and expertise of speaking to a pharmacist before trying to access a GP or emergency care.

Almost a quarter (23%) of those aged 25 to 34, admit they would try to get a GP appointment for a self treatable condition, compared to just 9% of those aged 65 or older.

Michelle Riddalls, CEO at PAGB says, “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. Utilising the advice and expertise available from community pharmacies, as well as the wealth of online support and guidance from the NHS and consumer healthcare brands, not only enables consumers to take more control of their health and wellbeing, it also relieves pressure on the health service.”

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.”

Mike Knowland, Bayer Consumer Health’s GM and Cluster Lead for Northern Europe, who is also joint Vice President on the Board of the PAGB says, “As a division, we remain committed to empowering more people to take greater ownership of their health and wellbeing through our self-care portfolio, before people seek primary care. The lack of confidence to self-treat among younger consumers is something we have already got behind to help reduce future pressures to the NHS. This includes our intimate health education initiative by Canesten, ‘The Truth, Undressed,’ and TikTok influencer partnerships highlighting daily nutritional supplementation by Berocca. To improve education and awareness about self-treatable conditions and direct people to self-care information, we also continually launch various tools and services that add value beyond our products. Most recently, for example, we developed an online regional pollen tracker from Clarityn, which is coupled with allergy advice.’

Accessing trusted self-care advice has never been more important. The report highlights that 40% of people say they feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available digitally, and the same number (40%) saying they don’t know what online health information they can believe.
Almost half (43%) of 18-24 year olds surveyed agreed that they would trust health information shared on social media, across channels such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. In this instance, there is an opportunity for the NHS to work with OTC brands, that have built trust and loyalty with consumers, to ensure access to reliable, accurate and useful information across these channels which complies with advertising regulations and shares trusted self-care advice. In addition, 73% of adults surveyed agree that they would trust health information from an OTC brand’s website, demonstrating the value that our consumer health brand portfolio can bring to support more people to self-care.

You can read the full report here on the PAGB website: https://www.pagb.co.uk/content/uploads/2024/07/Self-Care-Census-Report-2024_FINAL.pdf