Brits Spent Record Amount on Healthcare in 2023

The latest consumer spending figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal UK households spent a record £32.3bn on health products and services in 2023, 8.3%. Last year, patients spent £8.6bn on pharmaceutical products such as medicines, vaccines and vitamins.

They also spent £4.2bn on consultations with doctors and specialists and £4bn on dentists and hygienists. One of the most significant amounts of household expenditure was £10bn on in-patient hospital services, including medical care, meals and accommodation charges.

Dr Avinash Hari Narayanan, clinical lead at London Medical Laboratory, says, “It is great that Brits are now spending more on preventative healthcare measures, such as vitamins, acupuncturists and elective finger-prick blood tests and vaccinations. However, it is concerning that a growing amount of our household spending is going on health issues that the NHS is increasingly unable to fund.”