Public satisfaction with NHS at lowest level on record, a new poll reveals
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 Scotland, England, and Wales, is seen as the gold-standard 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 (82%), and 82% saying the NHS should be available to everyone.
Findings from the poll showed 52% of people 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%), followed by staff shortages (54%) and the government not spending enough money on the NHS (47%).
A report on the poll found: “A decade of squeezed funding and chronic workforce shortages followed by a global pandemic has left the NHS in a continual state of crisis”.
In a marked change, Conservative supporters reported only marginally higher levels of satisfaction with the NHS than Labour supporters in 2023 (29% versus 24%). Levels of dissatisfaction were similar across supporters of both parties.
The survey found that 34% of people were satisfied with GP services in 2023, the lowest level of satisfaction recorded since the survey began. Some 41% were dissatisfied.
Since 2019, satisfaction with GP services has fallen by 34 percentage points.
There were also problems with dentistry, with a record low satisfaction level of 24% and a record high dissatisfaction of 48%.
Satisfaction with both inpatient and outpatient hospital services remain at record low levels.
When asked what the most important priorities for the NHS should be, the top two were making it easier to get a GP appointment (52%) and increasing the number of staff in the NHS (51%). Improving waiting times for planned operations and in A&E were chosen by 47% and 45% of people respectively.
Public satisfaction with social care has fallen to 13%, the lowest level since the survey began.
The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust sponsored 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.”
Dan Wellings, senior fellow at the King’s Fund, told a briefing the
“results are bleak, but should not be surprising after a year of strikes, scandals and sustained long waits for care”.
He added: “With the health service increasingly unable to meet the expectations and needs of those who rely on it, public satisfaction with the NHS is now in uncharted territory.
“Ahead of the upcoming General Election, political leaders should take note of just how far satisfaction with this celebrated public institution has fallen.”
When it comes to funding and priorities, 84% of people polled said they thought the NHS had a major or severe funding problem.
Regarding government priorities and NHS spending, 48% thought ministers should “increase taxes and spend more on the NHS”, 42% chose “keep taxes and spending the same”, and 6% 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”.
The public remains behind the principles of the NHS