Public satisfaction with NHS drops to 25-year low

Public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped to its lowest level for 25 years after a sharp fall during the pandemic, a survey suggests.

The British Social Attitudes poll, seen as the gold standard measure of public opinion, found 36% of the 3,100 asked were satisfied in 2021.

That is a drop from 53% the year before - the largest fall in a single year.

Only once have satisfaction levels been lower since the poll started in 1983. That was in 1997, and shortly after that the Blair government started increasing the budget by record amounts.

The public said it was taking too long to get a GP appointment or hospital care, and there was not enough staff.

Satisfaction with GP care and hospital services were both at their lowest levels since the survey began.

Dan Wellings, senior fellow at the King's Fund, described them as "extraordinary".

He said the NHS initially saw a "halo" effect early on in the pandemic, with satisfaction rates being maintained as the NHS battled through the first wave. But he said it was clear that had now gone.

"People are often struggling to get the care they need. These issues have been exacerbated by the extraordinary events of the past two years, but have been many years in the making following a decade-long funding squeeze, and a workforce crisis that has been left unaddressed for far too long."

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Source: BBC News, 30 March 2022