Public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to the lowest level on record as poor access to GPs and long waits for hospital care continue.
The figures, from the British Social Attitudes annual survey show that less than one in four (24 per cent) people were happy with the health service in 2023, down 5 percentage points on the previous year. It is the lowest level of satisfaction since the survey started in 1983.
The study, of 3,374 people in England, Wales and Scotland, is seen as the gold-standard test of how people feel about the NHS.
It revealed more than half (52 per cent) are now dissatisfied with the NHS, the highest proportion since the survey began.
The main reasons for dissatisfaction are waiting times for GP and hospital appointments (71 per cent), followed by staff shortages (54 per cent) and the Government not spending enough money on the NHS (47 per cent), despite record investment.
According to Health think tanks, there has been an ‘unprecedented downward spiral’ in public satisfaction in recent years, as satisfaction with the NHS peaked in 2010, when 70 per cent of people were happy with the health service but it has since fallen dramatically.
The NHS has suffered a rapid decline of 29 percentage points since 2020, when services were crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Strikes by nurses, junior doctors and consultants have also led to the widespread cancellation of operations and appointments over the past year, causing to long-term delays.
The survey also highlighted that 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.
The Patients Association said it was “dismayed” by the survey results.
A spokesperson said:
“We are dismayed by the findings in this year’s British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, but not surprised that public satisfaction with the NHS is at an all-time low. The findings reflect the mounting challenges patients face in accessing overstretched services.
“For years, we have warned that the relationship between patients and the healthcare services they rely on has been severely strained by the immense pressures facing the NHS.
“This year’s BSA survey emphasises patients’ increasing frustrations over long waits for appointments, staff shortages and perceived underfunding in the NHS.”
Earlier this year, figures revealed that cancer waiting times in England during 2023 reached their worst level on record as only 64.1% of patients started treatment within 62 days of their suspected cancer diagnosis.
Meanwhile, statistics showed that in some NHS hospitals, patients were waiting more than 12 hours to be seen at A&E.
What do the latest NHS performance figures show?
According to figures. the overall NHS waiting list shrunk by 28,000 to 7.58 million in January. However, there were 376 people waiting more than two years to start treatment at the end of January, up on the 282 in December.
The number of people waiting more than a year to start hospital treatment was 321,394, down slightly on the 337,450 in the previous month.
Meanwhile, 44,417 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in February. The figure is down on the 54,308 logged in January.
Further reading
Medical Misdiagnosis or delay – Oakwood Solicitors
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Jade Glover is a Solicitor in the Medical Negligence team. She has worked for the company for over 9 years and completed her training during that time. She has specialised in Personal Injury clai…
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