Survey reveals 73 percent of the public advocate making better use of technology within the NHS

A new survey of the public published by the Health Foundation and Ipsos shows that making it easier to get appointments at GP practices has risen to the top of the public’s priorities for the NHS.

The survey findings, based on fieldwork carried out towards the end of November last year, are the first comprehensive look at public attitudes to health and care under the new Labour government, shining a light on how the public’s concerns compare to the government’s key priorities for the NHS.

The Prime Minister has made reducing waiting times for routine hospital treatment his top priority for the NHS, pledging to meet the 18-week waiting time standard by the end of parliament.

While 27 percent of the UK public rank waiting times for routine hospital services as a top priority, this comes behind reducing the number of staff leaving the NHS by improving working conditions at 29 percent.

The latest wave of the regular polling shows that workforce issues are now seen as less of a priority among the public compared to in May 2024, possibly prompted by the resolution to industrial action and recent pay settlements.

The public are also more likely to prioritise reducing waste and improving the efficiency of NHS services, up from 24 percent in May 2024 to 29 percent than in previous surveys.

The survey found strong support among the English public for the three ‘shifts’ that are set to be the focus of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS, which is due to be published in the spring.

Focusing on preventing sickness not just treating it is the most popular shift with 86 percent supporting this being a top priority for the government, followed by moving more care from hospitals to communities at 82 percent and making better use of technology at 73 percent.

However, despite the widespread publicity about the 10 Year Health Plan, around 3 in 4 of the English public are unaware of it.

Once made aware, just over a third are confident that developing a 10 Year Health Plan will lead to improvements in the NHS, whilst over half are not confident. To help boost confidence in its plans, the government must use the 10 Year Health Plan to convey a clear vision for how the NHS will improve in future, alongside tangible examples of how services will change to meet people’s needs.

The NHS and healthcare remain the UK public’s top priority for extra public spending by a substantial margin. Nearly two-thirds think the NHS/healthcare should be prioritised to receive more public spending in the future, ahead of over a quarter for social care for older people, and under a quarter for housing.

The NHS and healthcare is the top priority among supporters of all the main political parties, with the exception of Reform UK. According to the survey, more than three quarters of people intending to vote Labour are significantly more likely to see the NHS and healthcare as a spending priority than the public overall.

The public is more divided on how, if at all, to pay for extra spending needed to meet the growing needs for the NHS. While increasing taxes to maintain the current level of care and services provided by the NHS is still the most preferred option at 42 percent, support for tax increases has fallen over the last two years, down from 53 percent in November 2022 and 48 percent in November 2023.

The reduction in support for increasing taxes is not mirrored by greater support for reducing spending on other public services or reducing the level of care and services provided by the NHS. Instead, more people now reject all three of these options, 34 percent in the latest survey, up from 25 percent in November 2022.

In a slight boost for the new government, the public has become more optimistic that NHS and social care services will improve than under the previous government, but they are still negative overall.

Around one in five think the general standard of care provided by the NHS will get better over the next 12 months, compared with 11 percent in May 2024. Around one in 10 think the general standard of social care will get better over the next 12 months, compared to five percent in May 2024.

Hugh Alderwick, Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, said: “Our latest survey shows broad public support for the government’s ideas for NHS reform, like shifting care into communities. But it also illustrates how challenging it will be to balance multiple priorities for improving the health service and the difficult trade-offs this will involve.

“The public’s top priority is improving access to general practice, but the government’s headline political pledge on the NHS is to reduce waiting times for routine hospital treatment over the parliament. Making this happen will require substantial resources and may mean slower progress on improving care elsewhere, such as in primary and community care – particularly if extra investment is limited.

“The 10-year plan is an opportunity to provide hope things will get better and clarity on what government’s ideas for reform mean in practice. But the real test will be whether people see tangible improvements to the care they get from the NHS as a result – and how fast it happens.”