Citizens wait for healthcare services.
Less than a third of people in England are satisfied with their public health system, a survey has found.
Only 28% of respondents think the National Health Service provides a good service nationally – a fall of 6% since November. And more than half (52%) think performance will get worse in the coming year, according to the results of the Health Foundation Survey show.
The country’s long-overstretched NHS is struggling to meet the demand of an aging and increasingly sick population. Surgical backlogs are high and waiting times for care are long – a situation caused by underfunding and staff shortages, but exacerbated by the pandemic and ongoing industrial action.
Concerns about primary care are growing, with more than three-quarters of respondents worried about the pressure facing GPs, who recently announced they would take ‘collective action’ over a national contract.
This does not mean there will be total strikes. But it means smaller actions that still have a meaningful impact on healthcare. For example, GP clinics could limit the number of patients they see per day to 25 – already a high number, but far below the number most people see in practice, according to the think tank. the Nuffield Trust.
Poor performance in any part of healthcare is a serious concern for the public. Most people use the NHS for most – if not all – of their health needs. Most services are free at the time of use, with no insurance required.
The Health Foundation’s results are consistent with those of other recent studies. In March, an analysis of the UK Social Attitudes survey revealed historically low public satisfaction with healthcare.
The full results of this latest survey of 2,136 British adults will be published on Monday.
“Public satisfaction with the NHS was at a record low before the election and the new government will have to do everything it can to turn that around,” said Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation. “The public wants to see steps taken to retain NHS staff, improve access to GPs and recruit more people to work in healthcare.”
Striking doctors are currently considering a pay deal that will be tabled quickly by the country’s new Labor government – a move Gardner praised.
But “the challenges facing the NHS are significant. There are no quick fixes,” he added. “But the NHS can recover with the right mix of policy change, innovation and investment.”
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of hospital industry group NHS Providers, called the survey results “very concerning”.
“NHS trust leaders are committed to restoring services and delivering high quality care,” she said in a statement. “Thanks to the hard work of frontline teams, every effort is being made to tackle waiting lists and ensure people get the care they need as quickly as possible.”
But hospital leaders “know they still have a long way to go,” she added.
Rory Deighton, leader of the NHS Confederation’s acute network, stressed that it is important to remember “that thousands of people receive high-quality care from the NHS every day, and staff continue to deliver high-quality care in the most challenging circumstances. ”
Nevertheless, the NHS “needs the right investment” to tackle its performance problems. “This includes longer funding agreements so leaders can plan for the future, and a move away from short-term thinking,” he added in a statement.