Healthwatch gathers and champions the views of users of health and social care services, in order to identify improvements and influence providers’ plans. New data shows an increase in the number of people who avoid getting prescription medicines, booking NHS appointments and vital dental treatment for financial reasons. A tracker poll conducted with 2,000 adults found people who avoided an NHS appointment due to the cost of travel doubled to almost one in 10. Over one in 10 avoided booking an NHS appointment because of associated costs, - accessing the Internet and expensive phone calls. 39% said changes made to keep up with rising cost of living included avoiding dentists, NHS prescriptions, or even buying medicines over the counter. They are not turning on the heating and are cutting back on food. Consequently, 35% said their physical and mental health had gotten worse in the past two months.