Over a third of GPs see patient health adversely affected by low literacy every week
Exclusive Over a third of GPs (37%) see patients whose health is adversely affected by low literacy every week, a Pulse survey has revealed.
A poll of 731 GPs – conducted in conjunction with Channel 5 – found that every day 9% encounter patients having adverse health effects as a direct result of low literacy skills, such as being unable to read medication labels or understand clinical correspondence. A further 17% said that this happens ‘a few times a week’ and 11% said it happens every week.
GPs told Pulse that it is common for patients to ‘try to avoid sharing a literacy issue’ because of the stigma associated with it, and that low literacy has led to patients missing appointments, not following medication instructions and not requesting repeat medication once they completed the initial course.
The RCGP pointed out that lower literacy rates are tied to economic deprivation and renewed calls for more funding to be allocated to GPs in deprived areas.
A GP in Tower Hamlets said that some patients will ‘not admit it’ or do not have this marked on their notes, which makes GPs’ job harder.
The GP told Pulse: ‘It’s not nothing to be embarrassed about, we as GPs need to know that. And I think patients need to understand that we don’t care if you can read or write.
‘We just need to know and then we can work out how to help patients access healthcare and how to give appropriate instructions.
‘Not being aware of it makes it very stressful, because I need longer to see those patients, and decide if I’m going to continue with the appointment or not without a translation for example.
‘Or with the people that can’t read and write English, it’s a missing piece of information, which means that I am not able to gage my consultation.’
Another GP said: ‘It something I’ve started coding as I think it’s important when you meet them, and to follow up. Often they don’t volunteer it through embarrassment.’
RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said that the survey reflects what many of the college members ‘report seeing every day’.
She said: ‘Low literacy can impact how patients interact with all areas of the health service and have real consequences for their health.
‘For example, struggling to read appointment letters or understand how to take medication when it is hard to tell different medications apart and read information inserts.
‘GPs will be mindful of this and sensitively ask patients if they are able to read and understand the information they receive, but in some cases patients may be reluctant to disclose if they struggle with literacy.
‘Literacy is key to navigating the health service and the increasingly wide array of health information available through websites and social media, discerning what is reliable and accurate.
‘We want to see less stigma attached to low literacy – so patients feel more comfortable discussing it and addressing it.’
She added that the RCGP has called on the Government to ‘do more to tackle health inequalities‘, including a review of all general practice funding streams so that more spending is ‘channelled to areas of greatest need’.
She said: ‘We see lower literacy rates tied to economic deprivation, and this is just one way that inequalities impact health, from poor nutrition to poor housing.
‘This extends to access to healthcare with GPs in deprived areas are now responsible for caring for a staggering 2,450 patients per head – over 300 more patients per GP than in more affluent areas of the country.’
This survey was open between 31 March and 14 April 2025, collating responses using the SurveyMonkey tool. The survey was advertised to our readers via our website and email newsletter, with a prize draw for a £200 John Lewis voucher as an incentive to complete the survey. We asked for GPs’ practice codes or practice names and postcodes, and asked them to confirm what kind of GP they were. We removed those with duplicate email addresses, and searched for duplicate IP addresses, removing obvious duplicate entries. The survey was unweighted, and we do not claim this to be scientific – only a snapshot of the GP population.
Channel 5 will be running a report on health literacy in the coming weeks
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