Hunter Primary Care Network notices patient health checks falling off priority list

"I was working about 13 years and just had constant ear infections and now I've had to give up at work," the Lake Macquarie resident said.

"I've just been struggling financially, very hard."

Ms Lacey is one of many Australians who are letting their health checks fall off the priority list.

According to the Productivity Commission Report, 53 per cent of Australians are going less often to GP medical appointments, as cost-of-living pressures take over.

The report revealed 3.5 per cent of people postponed or skipped GP visits in the past 12 months, compared with 2.4 per cent in 2022.

Hunter Primary Care Network GP Lee Fong says he's seeing a decrease in people attending their appointments in the Hunter.

"I think it's people who can least afford to pay the gap - pensioners but also young families who are under financial pressure," Dr Fong said.

People who delayed treatment were likely to turn up at appointments with multiple health issues or a severe condition, like Ms Lacey, he said.

Ms Lacey, who is not in a healthcare fund, said that since she had lost her hearing she was constantly emptying her pockets to pay for treatment.

"When I got my hearing aids one place I went to they said it was 11 to 12 thousand dollars. I found another place for just under three thousand, but it's still quite a hefty amount with all your other bills," she said.

"I've got all these appointments and ongoing treatment. I need to get my ears cleaned out every four weeks and that's $100, it's costing me all the time."

Despite being unemployed, Ms Lacey said that if she had to choose between putting food on the table or buying medication, she would always put her health first.

"I've got to make my health a priority regardless, you don't want your health to go down," she said.

The bi-annual Australian Healthcare Index report, conducted by Healthengine and the Australian Patients Association, found that the top three challenges for healthcare in the country were doctor and nurse shortages, emergency department wait times and increasing costs to see a GP.

"Accessing care for urgent or semi-urgent conditions is an issue, some people are heading to crowded emergency departments and are faced with hours-long waits," Dr Fong said.

"The further we kick the chronic disease can down the road, the harder and the more expensive it is for the healthcare system to bring it back.

"I think we need major reform to the health system as a whole. That's going to take some time though.

"We need the health system as it currently stands to find interim solutions to assist the most vulnerable - the ones who can least afford to pay the gap and forced to put their health on the backburner."