Exploring Patient Choice

New MORI research conducted for BUPA suggests that the general public and GPs welcome more healthcare choices to be given to NHS patients. The desired choices range from more provision of information, to being involved in the choice of a surgeon to perform an operation. The public lends most support to patients being able to choose in which hospital to have an operation (or being more involved in this choice), whereas GPs are most supportive of patients being provided with more information about their treatment.

New MORI research conducted for BUPA suggests that the general public and GPs welcome more healthcare choices to be given to NHS patients. The desired choices range from more provision of information, to being involved in the choice of a surgeon to perform an operation. The public lends most support to patients being able to choose in which hospital to have an operation (or being more involved in this choice), whereas GPs are most supportive of patients being provided with more information about their treatment.

There are concerns from both parties, though, about the consequences of extending patient choice. GPs and the public both feel that on balance GPs' workload will increase. GPs are also concerned about the standard of patient care. While most GPs (48%) feel the standard of care will remain unaltered, they are more inclined to believe patient care will get worse (28%) than improve (19%). The public are more positive about this; 46% feel that the standard of patient care will get better, while 17% believe it will get worse. Three in ten (29%) feel that it will stay the same.

Technical details

General Public

  • 2,057 interviews in Great Britain among adults aged 15 and over
  • 31 July -- 5 August 2003
  • Face-to-face, in home
  • Weighted to known population profile

GPs

  • 104 interviews in Great Britain
  • 29 July -- 1 August 2003
  • Face-to-face
  • Data unweighted

Related news

  • Welsh Senedd polling
    Politics Survey

    Plaid Cymru has slight lead over Reform UK in new Ipsos Wales Senedd poll, but half of voters may change mind

    New polling data from Ipsos in the UK, conducted 2–8 April 2026, reveals a complex political landscape in Wales ahead of the Senedd elections. While Plaid Cymru has a slight lead in voting intentions, Reform voters are more committed, and many voters say they may still change their mind. The research also highlights widespread public frustration with the performance of the Welsh Government and a significant lack of trust in any single party to address the nation's top priorities.
  • Ipsos Scotland Political Pulse
    Scotland Survey

    Scots unimpressed by Holyrood campaigns, but give SNP the edge

    With just two weeks to go until the Scottish Parliament election on 7th May, new data from Ipsos’s Scotland Political Pulse shows that, while voters are not particularly impressed by any of the parties, the SNP have the edge, with views on both the party and their leader improving since last month.
  • Money jar
    Issues Index Survey

    Economic optimism falls to record low as concern over inflation rises

    The latest Ipsos Economic Optimism Index (EOI) reveals that net economic optimism in Britain has fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded since Ipsos began collecting this data in 1978. In the latest data, collected 8-14 April 2026, 78% of Britons expect the economy to get worse over the next 12 months (up 3ppts since last month), the highest level recorded since the Index began.