The impact of winter pressures on adults in Great Britain: December 2022

• Around a quarter of adults (23%) were occasionally, hardly ever, or never able to keep comfortably warm in their living room in the past two weeks.

• Over 6 in 10 (63%) adults reported using less gas and electricity because of increases in the cost of living, with more than 9 in 10 (96%) of these adults using the heating less.

• Around 1 in 3 (34%) of all adults reported that cutting back on heating their home has negatively affected their health or well-being.

• Around 1 in 6 (16%) adults were somewhat, or very, worried their food would run out before they had money to buy more, and 6% said their household had run out of food and could not afford to buy more.

• Around 1 in 5 (19%) adults reported eating smaller portions because of the rising cost of living, while 17% said they were eating food past its use by date.

• 1 in 5 (20%) reported they were waiting for a hospital appointment, test, or to start receiving medical treatment through the NHS; of those who said waiting for NHS treatment has negatively affected their life, around 6 in 10 (59%) reported that the wait has affected their well-being, while around 1 in 3 (36%) said it has made their condition worse.

• Barriers to getting a GP appointment in the past month included: being offered only a telephone consultation when they wanted a face-to-face appointment (41%), waiting too long for a GP appointment (36%), and not being able to get a GP appointment (22%).

Our latest Public opinions and social trends bulletin asked adults what they feel are the most important issues facing the UK today. The most commonly reported issues were the cost of living (92%) and the NHS (80%). In this article, we delve deeper into how increases in the cost of living and difficulties accessing NHS services are affecting people's lives.

This is the first of a series of monthly publications reporting findings from our new Winter Survey. The survey aims to understand the impact of certain economic, societal, and healthcare pressures on people's worries, experiences, behaviours, and health during late autumn and winter.

Our latest Public opinions and social trends bulletin (22 November to 4 December 2022) shows that around 9 in 10 (92%) adults in Great Britain reported their cost of living had increased, compared with a year ago. Around three-quarters (74%) of adults reported an increase in their cost of living compared with one month ago. A similar proportion (73%) reported being very, or somewhat, worried about rising costs of living in the past two weeks. When asked why their cost of living had increased over the last month, the most common reasons reported were:

• the price of food shopping increasing (94%)

• gas or electricity bills increasing (76%)

• the price of fuel increasing (53%)

Those who reported an increase in their cost of living compared with a month ago said they were:

• spending less on non-essentials (71%)

• using less fuel, such as gas or electricity, in their home (68%)

• shopping around more (54%)

• spending less on food shopping and essentials (52%)

Our latest Public opinions and social trends bulletin also mentions that around 2 in 10 (18%) adults said they did not have any savings.

We asked the same adults to tell us more about the challenges they are facing as the weather gets colder, and the actions they are taking as a result.

Energy insecurity

Energy insecurity refers to the inability of a household to meet its basic energy needs, such as heating their homes and having a warm bath.

A quarter of adults (23%) were occasionally, hardly ever, or never able to keep comfortably warm in their living room in the past two weeks (14% occasionally, 7% hardly ever, 2% never). Younger adults were more likely to report this, with around 1 in 3 (32%) of those aged 16 to 29 years doing so, compared with around 1 in 10 (11%) of those aged 65 years or older.

Our latest Public opinions and social trends bulletin reported that:

• around half (48%) of adults who pay energy bills found it very, or somewhat, difficult to afford them

• almost 6 in 10 (57%) adults were very, or somewhat, worried about keeping warm in their home over winter 

Over 6 in 10 (63%) adults reported using less fuel in their home because of increases in the cost of living. The actions they were taking to reduce their energy consumption, compared with the same time last year, were:

• using the heating less (96%)

• using the washing machine less (43%)

• using the tumble dryer less (43%)

• using the bath or shower less (38%)

We asked adults what actions they were taking to keep warm over winter, with the most reported actions being:

• putting on more clothing or blankets (82%)

• only heating rooms at home that I use (46%)

• using hot water bottles or microwave warmer (31%)

• going to bed earlier (27%)

Adults aged 16 to 29 years were more likely to report putting on more clothes or blankets (85%) and using water bottles or microwave warmers (37%) to keep warm over winter. Those aged 65 years or older were less likely (76% and 24%, respectively).

Food insecurity

Food insecurity refers to the inability of households to acquire enough food to lead a healthy life. We adapted three questions from the “Household stage 1 module” of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) food security survey to understand the extent to which adults are worrying about food running out and the proportion of people who report not being able to afford enough food or a balanced diet. Our survey found that:

• around 1 in 6 (16%) adults were somewhat, or very, worried their food would run out before they had money to buy more

• around 1 in 16 (6%) reported their household had run out of food and could not afford to buy more

• over 1 in 10 (11%) said they tend to, or definitely, disagree with the statement "my household can afford to eat a balanced diet"

Using different food security questions, which aim to identify households with very low food security, the Food Foundation showed that in September 2022, 18.4% of households experienced moderate or severe food insecurity during the previous month, an increase from 13.8% in April 2022.

In our latest Public opinions and social trends bulletin, 47% of adults said they had to spend more than usual to get what they normally buy while food shopping. Moreover, 51% said they have been buying less in the past two weeks.

When we asked adults what actions they were having to take to save money on food because of the increased cost of living, the most common responses were:

• eating out less at, for example, takeaways or restaurants (59%)

• buying cheaper food (53%)

• buying discounted food (37%)

Our findings resonate with those reported by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in September 2022. The FSA reported that 40% of adults aged 16 to 75 years felt worried about being able to afford food in the next month. Moreover, 30% reported they had skipped a meal, or cut down on meal sizes, because they did not have enough money to buy food in the last month.

Around 7 million people, including children, were on an NHS waiting lists for consultant-led elective care in England, according to the latest figures from NHS England as of October 2022. In Scotland, there were roughly 475,000 people on an NHS waiting list as of September 2022, according to Public Health Scotland. In Wales, around 755,000 people were waiting for NHS treatment in September 2022, according to StatsWales.

We found that 1 in 5 (20%) adults reported they were waiting for a hospital appointment, test, or to start receiving medical treatment through the NHS. Of those waiting for an appointment, 70% reported that they had been waiting for up to 6 months. Around 8% reported that they had been waiting between 7 and 11 months, and 18% reported they had been waiting for a year or longer.

Please note, our estimates are based on adult respondents who took part in the survey and may therefore differ from the actual number of people who are currently on an NHS waiting list. For administrative data on NHS waiting lists, visit NHS England, NHS Scotland or NHS Wales.

The impact of waiting for treatment

Around a third (34%) of adults currently waiting to start NHS treatment reported that the wait has had a strong negative impact on their life, while 42% reported it has had a slight negative impact on their life. The most commonly reported negative impacts were:

• my well-being is being affected (59%)

• it has made my condition worse (36%)

• my ability to exercise is being affected (34%)

• my mobility is being affected (33%)

We asked adults whether they had paid for private medical care in the past year because they felt the wait for NHS treatment was too long. Around 1 in 8 (13%) adults reported they had paid for private medical care, with 5% using private insurance and 7% paying for the treatment themselves.

We asked respondents about their experiences with accessing a GP. Of those who had made an appointment in the past month, around a third (35%) reported it being easy or very easy to make an appointment. Over half (52%) reported it being difficult or very difficult.

We asked adults who needed to make a GP appointment in the past month if they had experienced any barriers. The most common barriers experienced were:

• being offered only a telephone consultation when they wanted a face-to-face appointment (41%)

• waiting too long for a GP appointment (36%)

• difficulty contacting the GP practice (29%)

• not being able to get a GP appointment (22%)

The 2022 GP Patient Survey (PDF, 1.68MB) showed that, between January and April, 15.4% of patients reported not getting an appointment with their GP practice when they last tried to make one, either because they did not take the appointment offered or they were not offered an appointment.

Actions taken by those who faced barriers when trying to make a GP appointment included:

• taking the first appointment offered (61%)

• managing the condition themselves (20%)

• waiting longer until they saw the GP they wanted (15%)

We sought to understand the impact the cost of living, NHS waiting lists, GP access and other pressures are having on the public's health and well-being. Adults were most likely to report that the following issues negatively affected their health or well-being in the past month:

• having to cut back on heating my home (34%)

• waiting too long for a GP appointment (22%)

• waiting too long for a hospital appointment or treatment (15%)

• having to cut back on gas or electricity to cook or heat meals (13%)

Around half (49%) of adults said their health and well-being had not been negatively affected in the past month. Adults living in the least deprived areas in England were more likely to report their health or well-being had not been affected (58%), compared with those in the most deprived areas in England (33%).

Those living in the most deprived areas in England were more likely to report their health or well-being had been negatively affected by:

• having to cut back on heating their home (44% compared with 27% of the least deprived)

• waiting too long for a GP appointment (34% compared with 18% of the least deprived)

• cutting back on gas or electricity to cook or heat meals (25% compared with 8% of the least deprived)

Since the collection period (22 November to 4 December 2022), the UK Health Security Agency has warned England will experience severe cold weather starting on the evening of Wednesday 7 December. Cold weather can have serious consequences for health, especially for older people and those with heart or lung conditions. Our data shows that over a third (34%) of adults reported that cutting back on heating in their home had affected their health or well-being. We will be monitoring changes in this, and other relevant estimates, as the winter progresses.

Other risks to health reported by adults (see Figure 1) include:

• showering or bathing less (38%)

• not heating or reheating food until it is piping hot (8%)

• unplugging the fridge or freezer (3%)

• using medical electrical equipment less, such as ventilators, less (3%)

The cost of living is also having an impact on medication adherence. Of those who are currently taking prescription medication, 1 in 14 (7%) reported they are taking less medication to save on prescription costs.

Our Public opinions and social trends bulletin has been routinely reporting adults’ well-being, but also their worries and opinions on what are important issues facing the UK today. Given the challenges people are experiencing this time of year, we asked them how they feel about society.

We found that around 8 in 10 (78%) agreed, or strongly agreed, with the statement “I am frustrated because society is not as it should be”. Over 7 in 10 (74%) agreed, or strongly agreed, with the statement “I am afraid that things will go wrong in society.

Being frustrated, because society is not as it should be, was more likely to be reported by those who were:

• very worried about rising costs (89%), compared with those who were not at all worried (57%)

• never able to stay warm in their living room during the past two weeks (97%), compared with those who were always, or often, able to stay warm (74%)

• on an NHS waiting list (84%), compared with those not on an NHS waiting list (77%)

• finding it difficult, or very difficult, to access a GP (87%), compared with those finding it easy or very easy (77%)

Being afraid things will go wrong in society was more likely to be reported by those who were:

• very worried about rising costs (87%), compared with those who were not at all worried (51%)

• never able to stay warm in their living room during the past two weeks (91%), compared with those who were often, or always, able to stay warm (66%)

• on an NHS waiting list (79%), compared with those not on an NHS waiting list (73%)

Balanced diet

A balanced diet includes fruit, vegetables, pulses, meat or fish, starchy foods such as pasta or rice, and dairy.

Index of Multiple Deprivation

In this release we look at people's experiences by the level of deprivation of the area in which they live. This is based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). We have classified areas into five quintiles ranging from the most deprived to the least deprived areas. Estimates are provided for England only given the relatively smaller sample sizes on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey in Scotland and Wales.

This release contains data and indicators from a module being undertaken through the Office for National Statistics's (ONS) Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

Breakdowns by age, sex and the index of multiple deprivation, including confidence intervals (which are explained in our methodology on uncertainty) for the estimates, are contained in our Impacts of winter pressures on adults in Great Britain datasets.

Where differences between different demographic groups are presented in this bulletin, or comparisons between estimates are made, associated confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance (as explained in our methodology on uncertainty) of the differences.

Sampling and weighting

In this period (22 November to 4 December 2022), we sampled 4,962 households. This sample was randomly selected from those who had previously completed the Labour Market Survey (LMS) or OPN. The responding sample for this period contained 2,524 individuals, representing a 51% response rate.

Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population (based on ONS population estimates). Further information on the survey design and quality can be found in our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey QMI.