How has the rising cost of living impacted the health and wellbeing of residents in Westminster?

Why did we do this research?

Research from Healthwatch England, based on surveys of 2,000 adults conducted four times between October 2022 and March 2023, reveals that the cost of living is having a detrimental impact on people's decisions about their healthcare. 

Findings show that the key barriers to accessing healthcare include the cost of dental services, travel to NHS appointments and broadband subscriptions. You can read more about this research here.

Moreover, there are high levels of income and socio-economic inequalities in the borough of Westminster. Groups in the most deprived areas of the borough that are significantly affected by rising living costs are single people on low incomes, families with children (including single parents), those living with disabilities, and pensioners.

How did we carry out this project? 

Our aim was to gather insight from a diverse range of people through surveys and focus groups. In particular, we wanted to understand the experiences of those who may be more impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, including global majority groups, pensioners, people living with disabilities, and single parents.

In total, we heard from 139 people. This consisted of 94 people who responded to the survey, and 45 people who took part in our three in-person focus groups. We held the focus groups with The Older People’s Voices Forum, The Mosaic Community Trust, and The Abdul Mageed Educational Trust.

To ensure that we captured the views of underrepresented groups, who may be disproportionately affected by the cost-of-living crisis, we translated our survey into the top five spoken languages in Westminster – namely Arabic, Punjabi, Amharic, Urdu, and Bengali.

What did we find? 

Overall, the majority of participants that completed the survey reported that the increase in the cost of living had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing. Many people told us that they struggled to afford heating and fuel, dental treatment, medication and broadband to access online healthcare services.

Fewer people reported no change in accessing healthcare services during the cost-of-living crisis because they receive state benefits, are eligible for free prescriptions, feel that they are in good health or use health services, such as dental care, in other countries. The report delves further into these findings.  

The survey findings are supported by key themes that emerged from the focus group discussions. Participants highlighted to us that the rising costs of utilities, dental treatment and nutritious food negatively impacts their mental health because they constantly feel stressed and worried about managing these essential costs.

Our recommendations 

Our recommendations are based on the key insights shared by the 139 participants. People expressed that they would like to see increased funding toward community-based services, greater support provided for carers, improved mental health support for diverse communities and enhanced staff training to ensure high standards of care. 

It is also vital to engage residents throughout the entire process of public consultations before implementing any significant changes to the way that care is delivered. This helps to build trust and make impactful proposals that would relieve the pressures of cost of living on residents’ physical and mental health. You can read more about our recommendations in the report. 

What’s next? 

This report will be shared with the organisations responsible for commissioning and providing health and social care services. This includes local authorities, the North West London Integrated Care Board and primary care services such as GPs, dentistry, and community pharmacy providers. 

We will continue to monitor existing and emerging themes related to the impact of cost of living on residents' health and well-being through our community outreach services.