NHS patients ‘confused by overly complex health advice’

New research has revealed that NHS care provision may be undermined by the confusion many patients feel over the health advice they receive.

A study from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has demonstrated that nearly half of all adults in England find the health advice given to them by doctors and health professionals too complicated.

Around 43 percent said they fail to fully understand information that contains text, such as signs in hospital, leaflets and health guides, while one in three cannot comprehend numerical information presented to them.

Moreover, health professionals can sometimes overestimate the health literacy of their patients, who in turn are too embarrassed to ask questions.

Maureen Baker, chair of the RCGP, said: "Too often, our healthcare environments fail to recognise the needs of people with different levels of understanding about their health, meaning that patients are failing to receive the right care at the right time."

Earlier this month, the company reported that millions of patients are also struggling to make GP appointments at the moment, with some parts of the country affected worse than others.