Findings ‘bleak’ but poll shows majority support health service
Poor access to GPs and long waits for hospital treatment have led to public satisfaction with the NHS hitting the lowest level on record.
Fewer than one in four (24%) 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, is seen as the goldstandard test of how people feel about the NHS.
While satisfaction with the NHS peaked in 2010, when 70% of people were satisfied with the health service, it has since fallen.
And since 2020, satisfaction has fallen by 29 percentage points.
However, support for the founding principles of the NHS remains high, with 91% believing the NHS should be free of charge when people need to use it, 82% agreeing it should be primarily funded through taxes and 82% saying the NHS should be available to everyone.
The poll showed that 52% were dissatisfied with the NHS, the highest proportion since the survey began.
The main reasons for dissatisfaction were found to be waiting times for GP and hospital appointments (71%), followed by staff shortages (54%) and the Government not spending enough money on the NHS (47%).
Of those polled, 84% said they thought the NHS had a major or severe funding problem.
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.
"Changing the model of the NHS is not something the public wants - they just want the model they have got to work."
Dan Wellings, senior fellow at the King's Fund, said the "results are bleak, but should not be surprising after a year of strikes, scandals and sustained long waits for care."
He added: "Ahead of the upcoming general election, political leaders should take note of just how far satisfaction with this celebrated public institution has fallen."
A Department of
Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are fully committed to a faster, simpler and fairer NHS, free at the point of need. That's why we are providing the NHS with record funding of nearly £165bn a year by the end of this Parliament, an increase of 13% in real terms compared to 2019.
"We are making good progress in cutting waiting lists in England, which is one of the Prime Minister's top priorities. Despite winter pressures and the impact of industrial action, overall NHS waiting lists have decreased for the fourth month in a row and we've delivered on our commitment to provide an extra 50 million GP appointments months ahead of schedule."