The King's Fund: Illustrating the relationship between poverty and NHS services (18 March 2024)

Summary

Currently, it is estimated that more than one in five people in the UK are living in poverty.

This King's Fund analysis reveals that people living in poverty find it harder to live a healthy life, live with greater illness, face barriers to accessing timely treatment, and die earlier than the rest of the population.

The analysis looks at the link between poverty and each of the following:

• prevalence of ill health
• difficulties accessing health care
• late or delayed treatment
• poorer health outcomes.

The long read argues that while the NHS can, and should, do more to make timely care accessible to deprived communities, wider government and societal action is needed to address the root causes of poverty.