The UK public’s satisfaction with the NHS has finally stabilized after a record fall in 2011, according to the British Social Attitudes survey published by The King’s Fund.
Currently, 61 percent of the British population are satisfied with the way the NHS (National Health Service) is run, this is the third highest rate since the 1983 – when the surveys began.
From 2010 to 2011, public satisfaction with the NHS dropped from 70 percent to 58 percent. It was the largest drop since the start of the British Social Attitudes Survey in 1983, after a decade of almost yearly increased dissatisfaction with the NHS. This followed government NHS reforms and the first year the NHS significantly cut spending.
The increase in public satisfaction could mean that the spending cuts are less of a concern.
In addition, the survey also measured public satisfaction of specific services within the NHS, such as A&E (accident and emergency) services and GP and dental services.
The NHS, intended as a “comprehensive health and rehabilitation service for prevention and cure of disease”, was implemented across the United Kingdom by 1948
The overall satisfaction with the A&E services increased from 54 percent to 59 percent, while outpatient and inpatient services did not change from 2011.
Public satisfaction with GP and dental services also remained unchanged, at 74 percent and 56 percent respectively. The overall satisfaction of social care services was particularly low at 30 percent.
Public satisfaction remained consistent across all political parties, with 64 percent of Conservative and Labour supporters and 63 percent of Liberal Democrats satisfied with the NHS.
According to John Appleby, Chief Economist at The King’s Fund:
“The British Social Attitudes survey has provided an important barometer of how the public views the NHS since 1983. With no real change in satisfaction with the NHS in 2012, this suggests the record fall in 2011 was not a blip and that the ground lost may take some time to recover.”
Most of the interviews, which were carried out by NatCen, took place between July and September 2012. The sample size was 1,103 and all participants were interviewed face-to-face. The results of the survey are said to represent the general population accurately.
Written by Joseph Nordqvist