Public satisfaction with NHS hits record low

Public satisfaction with the NHS has hit a new low, according to the long-running British Social Attitudes survey.

Just 21% said they were satisfied with the NHS in 2024, with waiting times and staff shortages the biggest concerns.

Satisfaction rates have dropped sharply since the pandemic – in 2019, 60% were satisfied.

Responding to the findings, Sir Jim Mackey, the new chief executive of NHS England, said he was worried about the "growing disconnect" between the service and the population.

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

Nearly 3,000 people from England, Wales and Scotland were asked for their views last autumn.

There have been particularly sharp falls in satisfaction with three core services:

The public in Wales were the most dissatisfied with the NHS.

Satisfaction with social care, which covers care homes and help in the home, was lower still, with just 13% saying they were satisfied - the same as last year.

Sir Jim, in his first broadcast interview since starting his new role, said: "None of us have felt we are delivering improvements at the pace needed for our population.

"I am very worried about a growing disconnect between the service and the population. The results are pretty bad - and there's a big message in that.

"We are here for the population. The population own the NHS. It's their service."

The survey, which was carried out before last year's Budget when the government announced a rise in funding, also found more than two thirds did not think enough was spent on the NHS.

But the public is also concerned about waste – with just 14% saying the NHS spends the money it has efficiently.

Bea Taylor, from the Nuffield Trust think-tank, which has published the findings along with the King's Fund, said: "Just five years after the British public were called on to 'Protect the NHS' at the start of the pandemic, these findings reveal just how dismayed they are about the state of the NHS.

"The government says the NHS is broken - and the public agree. But support for the core principles of the NHS – free at the point of use, available to all and funded by taxation – endures despite the collapse in satisfaction."

Louise Ansari, of the patient watchdog Healthwatch England, said the survey was a "sobering reminder" of the state of the NHS.

"Although many people tell us that they are grateful for the hard work of NHS staff, long waiting times and access issues across the health system have taken their toll on people's confidence in getting timely care in the first place."

And Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents health managers, said: "These figures must be a wake-up call for the NHS.

"It's clear radical action is needed across the board to restore the public's faith in the NHS."

England's Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "We inherited a broken NHS and this survey shows patients agree."

He said since the survey was carried out extra money had been invested and improvements were starting to be seen, but it would take time.

He said the forthcoming 10-year plan for the NHS, which is expected in the summer, would once again make the NHS the "envy of the world".

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell & Mary Litchfield.