Delayed healthcare access in Europe: causes, consequences, and strategies for improvement

Background

Over the past decade, delays in healthcare access and subsequent unmet healthcare needs have been rising across Europe and the United Kingdom (UK), particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising prevalence of long-term conditions, growing demand for mental healthcare, and ageing populations are straining healthcare systems and delaying care. This report aimed to provide a detailed overview of the causes, consequences, and strategies to improve delayed access to healthcare in Europe and the UK.

Methods

This study used a mixed-methods approach, combining narrative literature synthesis and descriptive statistics. Literature searches were conducted using Medline and Scopus, and the references and citations of relevant studies were hand-searched. Descriptive statistics were generated using Eurostat data.

Results

Prominent causes of delayed access to healthcare comprise psychosocial, geographical, service provision, and financial/economic barriers. Consequences include poorer individual and population health, increased demand on the healthcare system, and broader financial/economic impacts, such as reduced workplace productivity. In 2023, twice as many people reported unmet healthcare needs due to waitlists compared to 2013. Strategies to improve access to healthcare include health promotion initiatives with clinician follow-up and digitally enabled remote health monitoring for geographically remote populations. However, one-size-fits-all approaches are often ineffective, especially for systemically disadvantaged communities.

Conclusions

Improving access requires coordinated action across healthcare, education, social welfare, and non-governmental sectors to address the psychosocial, geographical, service provision, and financial barriers driving delayed care.

Key messages

• Delayed access to healthcare is rising across Europe and the UK, with unmet needs due to waiting lists doubling between 2013 and 2023.

• Policy responses should address psychosocial, geographical, service provision, and financial barriers, particularly for disadvantaged communities.