Our financial health affects our mental and physical health – we need a holistic approach to wellbeing including debt management

We all know that financial problems cause stress, anxiety and depression. People in severe financial difficulty including over indebtedness who are forced to cut back on essential spending, can end up with poor diets, cold homes and lacking basic things like a cooker, fridge and bedding. There is much evidence that tells us these have negative consequences on people’s physical and mental health.

Problems run the other way too.  Living with a long-term health condition can make it harder to work full time and can increase living costs. People with mobility problems often experience higher transport costs and longer journeys. A disability that requires care from another member of the  household, can also limit the carer’s ability to work full time too. Some health conditions require special diets, equipment and extra household chores including more laundry. 

The potential impacts of poor finance on health and of poor health on finances are myriad, and the combinations involved can be highly individualised as a result. 

Financial Shield is a new holistic approach to address the inter relationships between financial, mental and physical health that embeds financial support within social prescribing models.

For the first time, GPs will provide personalised and co-ordinated financial support to people in need, involving multiple agencies and creditors. The ambition is to demonstrate that helping people to better manage their finances improves their health conditions and, in turn, can reduce costs for both the NHS and creditor agencies, including local authorities and landlords.

Getting people Back on Track financially is especially urgent in communities hit hard by COVID-19 to help individuals rebuild their financial situation and recover their health. Financial Shield is piloting in Lambeth and Stockwell because like many London boroughs it has a large population of people with both financial and health problems. It is also very diverse, where nearly every other resident is from a Black, Asian, Mixed, Arab or other ethnic minority and health inequalities are clearly apparent.

A new report by Impact on Urban Health, mentions the Financial Shield and analyses the links between physical, mental and financial health in Lambeth and Southwark, where many residents’ health issues and money problems exacerbate each other. It also shows that the pandemic has widened the health gap between those living in the most deprived and affluent communities.

The heat map, below, reveals that over-indebtedness and low patient support are highest in and around London, extending into the Midlands and the North mainly in large towns and cities.

Over-indebtedness and low patient support, by local authority quintiles in England

Lambeth and Southwark are not alone in hosting a large population of people with both financial and health problems. Our early analysis indicates there are sixty-four local authority areas where Financial Shield may be particularly beneficial (the darkest shades in the map).

Right now, we want to engage with primary health care services, local authorities, social landlords, utility and water companies to form a Financial Shield Learning Network that shares the outcomes of our work in Lambeth and Southwark over the next 18 months, and, if the model proves successful, prepare for a rapid expansion of the approach with a national roll out from 2022.

If you would like to join the Learning Network, please sign up to our mailing list.