Doctors Win Overwhelming Vote Of Confidence From Public

New opinion poll for BMA shows the public continues to trust the medical profession.

The public continues to place its trust in doctors, a new opinion poll conducted independently for the BMA by MORI confirms today.

Eighty nine per cent of the public trust their doctors to tell the truth, up a significant two percentage points on last year. The same proportion, 89 per cent , are fairly satisfied or very satisfied with the way doctors do their jobs, though the proportion who say they are "very satisfied" has fallen by five percentage points.

Patients who had seen their GP or hospital doctor more than five times in the last year were the most likely to say they were "very satisfied" with doctors' performance, 45 and 48 per cent respectively compared with an average 36 per cent.

Even when reminded of medical controversies like the Bristol Inquiry or the Alder Hey organ retention report, 84 per cent of the public still say that doctors are doing their job well.

The opinion poll puts doctors at the top of the league table of professionals trusted by the public, alongside teachers. The poll conclusively rebuts fears that the medical profession is in the dock or that there is a crisis of public confidence in doctors.

Commenting on the opinion poll, Dr Ian Bogle, Chairman of the BMA, says:

"I am delighted with the results of the poll. It shows that you should trust the public to make mature judgements based on their own experience. Patients read about high profile cases and they want action taken against individual bad doctors but they do not make false links between very different kinds of problems and they know that doctors are doing a good job in difficult circumstances."

"Doctors will take great heart from this evidence. We will not be complacent about it. Trust lies at the heart of the doctor patient relationship and if trust is broken, care will be compromised. The medical profession is making big efforts to change, where change is needed."

"I hope that politicians, commentators and doctors themselves really do absorb the lessons of this poll. There is a danger that if you keep saying that public confidence has been eroded, it will become a self fulfilling prophecy. That is not good for patients, doctors or the NHS."

The poll was conducted for the BMA in England, Wales and Scotland by MORI. Interviews were conducted with 1,918 adults aged 15+.

Doctors came top of the list of professions the public trusts to tell the truth. At 89 per cent, they are ahead of teachers (86 per cent), the clergy, judges and professors ( all at 78 per cent) and the police (63 per cent) The equivalent trust rating for doctors last year was 87 per cent.

When respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the way different professions do their job, 89 per cent said they were either very satisfied or fairly satisfied with doctors . The equivalent figure in February 2000 was 90 per cent. Nurses head the satisfaction ratings with 94 per cent, followed by doctors, 89 per cent, dentists 84 per cent and teachers 82 per cent.

There is clear public support for a consultant delivered hospital service. Fifty four per cent of the public believe that you need to see a hospital consultant, rather than someone less senior, to be sure of getting the best treatment and 49 per cent disagree with the proposition that consultants "do not take enough care when operating". Only a quarter of the public (26 per cent) believes that doctors have too much power over patients, against nearly half (47 per cent ) who disagree. For less serious medical conditions, patients are happy to deal with a nurse rather than a doctor (85 per cent versus 9 per cent).

There is a warning to doctors to pay attention to patients' feelings. Thirty five per cent feel they pay too little attention but 43 per cent disagree and 19 per cent are undecided. However hospitals as institutions fare much less well than doctors. Fifty nine per cent of respondents said that those who run hospitals pay too little attention to the rights and feelings of patients as opposed to 20 per cent who disagree.

The BMA particularly wanted to test whether high profile adverse coverage of doctors has affected public confidence. This year respondents were prompted with references to Bristol and Alder Hey. Last year, reference was made to Bristol and to stories of doctors helping people to die.

Twenty six per cent said that doctors do their job very well and 58 per cent said fairly well, a satisfaction rating of 84 per cent. Last year the combined rating was 89 per cent, with 32 per cent saying doctors do their job very well and 57 per cent saying fairly well.

According to Michele Corrado of MORI:

"The fall in those saying that doctors do their job very well is statistically significant but certainly does not bear out fears of a crisis of public confidence in doctors. MORI has been tracking public perceptions of doctors since 1983 and at least eight in 10 of the public have trusted them to tell the truth since our measurements began."

The public is realistic about the nature of human error. Seventy eight per cent recognise that doctors are no more or less likely than the public to make a mistake.

Doctors look to lawyers and accountants when comparing their earnings. Although no respondent considered lawyers to be underpaid and only 1 per cent thought accountants should be paid more, 30 per cent of the public says that doctors are underpaid for the work they do.

Lower paid nurses and teachers get a higher sympathy rating at 86 and 53 per cent respectively. The public is evenly divided about whether doctors are more interested in private practice than in the NHS. Only nine per cent strongly feel that they are, but seven per cent strongly reject that view. The figure has not changed significantly since last polled in 2000, at 9 and 7 per cent respectively. The agree and disagree figures are 35 and 37 per cent in 2001, against 34 and 39 per cent in 2000.

Overall, the poll provides a picture of a profession held in high esteem by the public. Doctors are trusted by the public to an extent that would be the envy of other professions. Only 27 per cent trust business leaders to tell the truth. Journalists and politicians are believed by 18 and 17 per cent, with Government Ministers faring slightly better at 20 per cent.

Ends

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,918 adults aged 15+ in 190 sampling points in great Britain from 1 to 6 March 2001. All interviews were conducted face-to-face in the home and the data have been weighted to the known profile of the British population. The full results are attached.

In 2000, MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,072 adults aged 15+ in Great Britain. The data were weighted.