Attitudes to healthcare services in the UK
The balance of opinion in the UK has hardened against private providers running healthcare services, says a new Ipsos poll for King's College London.
The balance of opinion in the UK has hardened against private providers running healthcare services, says a new Ipsos poll for King’s College London.
Since 2011, the balance of opinion in the UK has hardened against private providers running healthcare services – although non-profit making organisations are seen as more acceptable. This is a key finding from a new poll, conducted by Ipsos for King’s College London. The poll findings are published in tandem with a new History & Policy paper by Dr Nick Hayes, of Nottingham Trent University, Health reforms, opinion polls and surveys: myths and realities, which reveals how people feel about NHS reform today is heavily determined by their pejorative preconceptions about provision before the NHS.
People imagine a negative past that never really existed when it comes to pre-1948 healthcare. This mythical past shapes contemporary attitudes to changes to the NHS,’ says Dr Hayes. 'It makes the public and policy makers alike cautious. Those who oppose change know this and they play upon people’s fears.Our poll, conducted in October 2013, finds 42% agreeing with the statement: ‘as long as health services are free of charge, it doesn’t matter to me whether they are provided by the NHS or a private company’, little changed on the 41% recorded in February 2011. However, the proportion who disagrees with this statement has increased during this period, from 36% to 47%. However, people are less likely to be against external providers delivering UK healthcare services instead of the NHS if the external provider is a non-profit making organisation such as a charity or voluntary organisation. The 2013 poll finds over half (54%) agreeing that, as along as health service are free of charge, it does not matter whether they are provided by the NHS or a non-profit organisation, well above the 42% who agree when the non-NHS provider is “a private company”.
Yet mixed provision was much closer to how things actually used to be according to Dr Hayes. Pre-1948 healthcare was provided either by local authorities or voluntary associations.
'You paid in a small weekly amount to your local hospital and you got free cover for you and your family. It was very popular,’ Dr Hayes said.
"Private providers have some way to go before they are a fully accepted part of the UK’s health system on par with state-run services. The Government are keen to ensure the NHS is able to meet the demands placed on it, but they must be careful that in reforming the NHS and introducing new providers into the mix, they take account of public opinion and don’t leave the public behind."
Technical Note
1. Dr Nick Hayes' H&P paper, Health reforms, opinion polls and surveys: myths and realities is now published. Dr Hayes is Reader in Urban History at Nottingham Trent University. To interview Dr Hayes please contact H&P Public Affairs Manager, Fiona Holland, 0207 848 7047 / [email protected]
2. Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,009 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 12th – 14th October 2013. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. Where percentages do not sum to 100 this may be due to computer rounding. 3. History & Policy is an independent initiative working for better public policy through an understanding of history. H&P is a unique collaboration between the Institute of Contemporary British History at King’s College London and the University of Cambridge.More insights about Public Sector
