Public satisfaction with the NHS at lowest level on record

Poor access to GPs and long waits for hospital treatment have led to public satisfaction with the NHS hitting the lowest level on record, a new survey has unveiled.

24 percent of people were satisfied with the health service in 2023, down five percentage points on the previous year and the lowest level since records began in 1983, according to findings from the British Social Attitudes poll.

The study, of 3,374 people in England, Wales and Scotland, shines a spotlight on how people feel about the NHS.

While satisfaction with the NHS peaked in 2010, when 70 percent of people were satisfied with the health service, it has since fallen. Since 2020, satisfaction has fallen by 29 percentage points.

However, support for the founding principles of the NHS remains high, with 91 percent believing the NHS should be free of charge when people need to use it, 82 percent agreeing it should be primarily funded through taxes, and 82 percent saying the NHS should be available to everyone.

Findings from the poll showed that just over half of respondents were dissatisfied with the NHS, the highest proportion since the survey began. The main reasons for dissatisfaction are waiting times for GP and hospital appointments (71 percent), followed by staff shortages (54 percent), and the UK Government not spending enough money on the NHS (47 percent).

Additionally, when respondents were asked what the most important priorities for the NHS should be, the top two were making it easier to get a GP appointment (52 percent) and increasing the number of staff in the NHS (51 percent).

Worryingly, public satisfaction with social care has fallen to 13 percent, the lowest level since the survey began.

The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust sponsor the health and care questions in the poll, which is carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen).

Their analysis report said: “Despite record lows in satisfaction, the public remains overwhelmingly behind the principles of the NHS.

“The last few years have seen large falls in satisfaction but support for the founding principles behind the NHS – free at the point of use, available to everyone, and primarily funded through taxes – has remained constant.

“Changing the model of the NHS is not something the public wants – they just want the model they have got to work.”

When it comes to funding and priorities, 84 percent of people polled said they thought the NHS had a major or severe funding problem.

Regarding government priorities and NHS spending, 48 percent of people thought ministers should “increase taxes and spend more on the NHS”, 42 percent chose “keep taxes and spending the same”, and six percent chose “reduce taxes and spend less on the NHS”. People with the most monthly income were more likely to choose “increase taxes and spend more on the NHS”.

Responding to the findings of the latest British Social Attitudes survey, Chris Hopson, Chief Strategy Officer at NHS England, said: “Whilst these findings reflect the sustained pressure and disruption facing NHS services last Autumn, it is extremely welcome to once again see overwhelming public support for the founding principles of the NHS.

“Over the last 12 months as the NHS has continued to recover from the pandemic, frontline services have responded to significant increases in demand, with October seeing the most A&E admissions since January 2020 and GP teams delivering 53 million more appointments last year compared to pre-pandemic levels. Coupled with the impacts of a year of strike action, this has affected the experiences of some patients, which we know has been very frustrating.

“However, thanks to the hard work of staff, NHS teams have delivered more elective activity in 2023 than in any other year since the start of the pandemic, with over 17.3 million people treated. It is also encouraging to see a slight increase in public satisfaction with emergency care services over the surveyed period.

“While there is still much more to do, the NHS’s plans to recover access to emergency, primary and dental care and reduce cancer, ambulance and elective waiting times are helping the NHS to deliver improved care for patients.”

A recent report warned that NHS Supply Chain has failed to persuade NHS trusts to use it to make billions in purchases.