Public satisfaction with NHS at lowest ever level, survey shows

Public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped again, setting a new low recorded by the long-running British Social Attitudes survey.

Just 24% said they were satisfied with the NHS in 2023, with waiting times and staff shortages the biggest concerns.

That is five percentage points down on last year and a drop from the 2010 high of 70% satisfaction.

The poll - the gold-standard measure of the public's view of the health service - has been running since 1983.

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More than 3,000 people were polled by the National Centre for Social Research across England, Wales and Scotland in the autumn.

Health is devolved so it is up to each nation to decide on policies for the NHS.

The findings on the NHS, published by the Nuffield Trust and King's Fund think tanks, show once again that performance has deteriorated after a new record low was seen last year.

In total, since 2020, satisfaction has fallen by 29 percentage points.

Of the core services, the public was least satisfied with A&E and dentistry.

The survey also showed satisfaction with social care had fallen to 13% - again the lowest since the survey began.

The major reasons for dissatisfaction were long waiting times, staffing shortages and lack of funding.

When asked about government choices on tax and spending on the NHS, 48% backed increasing taxes and spending more on the NHS, but 42% preferred to keep taxes and spending the same and 6% backed reducing taxes and spending less.

Those with the highest incomes were more likely to want to increase taxes and spend more.

'I feel let down'

Samuel Wilson, 45, who lives in Worthing, West Sussex, has been left unable to work due to mobility and pain problems following two hip replacements.

He is now awaiting further treatment. "I can't walk very far without excruciating pain," he says.

"I feel let down. The NHS is there to help you, not make things worse. I feel they have treated me disdainfully. The nurses are polite, I've found, and even my surgeon.

"But they are not providing the level of care required. And they know they are not providing the level of care required but trying to deal with them is like banging your head against a brick wall."

Rory Deighton, the NHS Confederation's acute network director, said the figures "reflect exactly how people are feeling".

"Times are tough, it's hard for staff and I think people recognise that," he told BBC's Breakfast programme. "We've had a really hard year."

He said the focus for NHS leaders in the next 12 to 24 months would be on improving GP and dental access, and cutting waiting lists.

As well as calling for increased spending on hospitals, GP surgeries and social care, Mr Deighton said there was a "really strong link" between industrial action and the size of waiting lists for elective treatments.

Junior doctors in England have staged 10 walkouts since March last year in a row over pay and recently voted to continue strike action.

Jessica Morris, from the Nuffield Trust, said the findings were worrying.

"As we approach a general election, political parties should be frank and realistic about the challenges ahead of them if they are to turn this situation around.    

"Despite such low levels of satisfaction, the public continue to back the principles underpinning the NHS.

"The public has not fallen out of love with the idea of a publicly funded, free-at-the-point-of-use NHS, but they are losing confidence that it will support them and their loved ones in the best possible way when they need it."

The Patients Association said it was "dismayed" by the survey results.

And Royal College of Nursing general secretary Prof Pat Cullen said: "Enough is enough".

"Voters must now make NHS and care services the central issue of the general election," she said.

"An NHS that was once a world-leader is now treating patients in corridors, doorways, and store cupboards. The status quo has become intolerable."

But a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care in England said progress was being made, with some signs that the waiting list was falling, while investment was being made in key areas, such as GPs.

"We are fully committed to a faster, simpler and fairer NHS, free at the point of need," he said.

The Scottish government said other research showed people in Scotland were more satisfied with the way the NHS was run than this survey suggested.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We recognise performance is not where it should be. That is why despite significant budget pressures we continue to increase spending on the NHS and have more staff working in the NHS than ever before."