Public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to an all-time low, with more dissatisfied than satisfied for the first time.
According to the UK’s Social Attitudes survey, dissatisfaction has doubled in just two years as patients struggle to access GPs, dentists and ambulances.
The ‘gold standard’ survey of 3,362 people in England, Wales and Scotland has been tracking public opinion consistently since 1983 and is now in its 40th year.
It shows that less than one in three people (29 per cent) are satisfied with the NHS overall – up from 36 per cent last year and 70 per cent in 2010.
The decline was recorded across all ages, income groups, genders and supporters of different political parties.
According to the UK’s Social Attitudes survey, dissatisfaction has doubled in just two years as patients struggle to access GPs, dentists and ambulances. The ‘gold standard’ survey of 3,362 people in England, Wales and Scotland has been tracking public opinion consistently since 1983 and is now in its 40th year
Meanwhile, overall dissatisfaction has risen from 25 percent in 2020 to 51 percent today.
Experts say the findings should serve as a ‘warning siren’ and believe Rishi Sunak has his ‘work off his hands’ if he is to achieve his goal of restoring his services before the general election.
It comes as a record: 7.2 million people are on an NHS waiting list after care was severely disrupted during the pandemic.
The National Center for Social Research (NatCen) conducted the research for think tanks Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund in September and October last year.
It reveals that satisfaction has fallen to an all-time low in every single healthcare area surveyed, including dentistry, general practice, emergency, inpatient and outpatient.
More than two-thirds of respondents (69 percent) cite long waiting times for GP and hospital appointments as one of the top reasons for dissatisfaction.
In second place came the staff shortage at 55 percent.
A record 40 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with emergency services, an increase of 11 percentage points from the previous year and the largest one-year increase since the question of emergency services was introduced in 1999.
Data from NHS England shows that the number of people waiting for routine hospital treatment rose by 13,000 to 7.21 million in January. The record figure means there are 64 per cent more people stuck in line, often in pain, compared to before Covid hit
Only 30 percent of people said they were satisfied with A&E services.
Satisfaction with GP care fell to a record low of 35 percent in 2022, up from 38 percent in 2021.
And satisfaction with NHS dentistry also fell to a record low of 27 per cent, while dissatisfaction rose to a record high of 42 per cent.
About 24 per cent of respondents said they were ‘very dissatisfied’ with NHS dentistry – a higher percentage than for any other health service included in the survey.
Despite the overall drop in satisfaction, the authors said public commitment to the principles of the NHS is ‘unabated’ and the majority of people agree that the service should be free at the point of use; available to everyone; and that it should be financed primarily through taxes.
However, as the cost of living rises, more people said the service should operate within its current budget than they would receive more money from a tax increase.
Jessica Morris, author of the report and fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: ‘The fact that we have now recorded the lowest level of satisfaction with the NHS in the 40-year history of this gold standard survey is a warning sign.
This 2022 British Social Attitudes survey points to continued and growing concern about every aspect of healthcare.
“The Prime Minister has made NHS recovery one of his central promises for the next general election, but these results show what a formidable task this will be.
“It is clear that it will take many years for dissatisfaction among the British public with the way the NHS operates to be restored.”
Dan Wellings, author of the report and senior fellow at The King’s Fund, added: ‘The public can see for themselves the results of more than a decade of underfunding and a lack of workforce planning.
“People are struggling to get the care they need, especially in emergency situations, as evidenced by the extraordinary spike in emergency room dissatisfaction.
Hospitals in England performed nearly 290,000 procedures in January, meaning performance is down eight percent in three years. The pre-pandemic average was around 305,000 per month
“The high-profile pressure on emergency departments is symptomatic of challenges across the board, with every service covered by the survey experiencing record low levels of satisfaction.
“Even with satisfaction falling to an all-time low, support for NHS fundamentals remains strong. The public doesn’t want a different care model, they just want the current model to work.’
He added: ‘Satisfaction ebbs and flows, but the belief in the attitude is absolutely rock solid.
‘It’s still the thing that makes us most proud to be British, but these results are very clear – it’s not working for large numbers of people right now.
“I think behind the numbers there are people who are really struggling to get care and support and access for themselves or their family members.”
He said the results “should be ringing loud, sustained alarm bells in the corridors of power,” adding: “This is as bad as I’ve ever seen in an NHS survey.”
Mark Dayan, from the Nuffield Trust, added: ‘Across the board we now have people who are more dissatisfied than happy with how health services are being run in the UK.
‘Over the past two years, satisfaction has fallen sharply and dissatisfaction has risen sharply.
MailOnline looked at the performance of 133 NHS trusts in England and compared the number of procedures they performed on patients referred for elective treatment in January with the same month in 2020. Only 29 trusts outperformed pre-Covid. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (top left), whose numbers suggest it has seen the biggest drop, performed just 2,170 at the start of this year. For comparison: three years ago it achieved 4,278 in the same month
“Unfortunately, I don’t expect a quick recovery with any of these and there’s a good chance they will get worse.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS organisations, said: ‘These sad but important findings show the public’s frustration with the status quo around health and social care and should serve as a red flag for the government .’
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘We are immensely grateful to the NHS and social care staff for their incredible work, including during the pandemic, and the progress they have made to tackle the resulting backlog.
“Reducing waiting lists is one of the Prime Minister’s five priorities and so far we have virtually eliminated waiting times of more than two years for treatment and the latest figures show that the number of patients waiting longer than 18 months has increased by 80 per cent has decreased from the peak.
“We have delivered 3.3 million tests, scans and checks to detect cancer and other conditions as early as possible through our 94 community diagnostic centers and more will be rolled out this year.
“At the same time, we are investing up to £14.1bn in health and social care over the next two years to support staff and ensure patients receive the highest quality care.”