Just one in ten members of the public think the government has the right policies in place for the NHS

The Health Foundation has partnered with Ipsos to deliver a programme of public polling research examining expectations and perceptions of health and social care. Every 6 months, we poll a representative sample of the UK public using the UK KnowledgePanel – Ipsos’ random probability online panel.

The findings from the fourth survey show:

• The public remain sceptical about the quality of services provided by the NHS - only a third (33%) of the public think the NHS is providing a good service nationally. This is consistent with public opinion recorded in November 2022, but still notably lower than in May 2022 and November 2021 (43% and 44%, respectively). Addressing the pressure on or workload of NHS staff (40%) and increasing the number of staff in the NHS (39%) are seen as the top priorities.
• The majority of the public feel that the NHS needs an increase in funding (80%), with only 17% agreeing that the NHS does not need further funding and should operate within its current budget. Although opinion on how any increase in budget should be funded is varied, the most popular single mechanism remains an additional tax earmarked specifically for the NHS (31%).
• People continue to feel negatively about the state of social care. Just over one in ten (12%) think social care services in their local area are good, while a greater proportion disagree (33%). Notably, 31% of people neither agree nor disagree and 25% say they don't know, highlighting a lack of public awareness of social care services compared to the NHS (on whether local NHS services are good, 26% neither agree nor disagree and 2% don't know).
• Confidence in government policy on social care also remain very low - only around one in twenty (6%) agree that government has the right policies for social care and nearly two thirds (63%) disagree. Echoing the public’s priorities for the NHS, some of the top priorities for social care include improving pay and conditions for social care staff (42%) and increasing the number of staff in social care (32%).  
• Almost two-thirds (64%) of the public feel that the overall level of health and wellbeing in the UK has worsened over the last 12 months (only 8% thought it got better). Although people are somewhat less pessimistic about the health and wellbeing of the nation compared to six months ago, expectations are still negative overall with the public largely unconvinced that the government is taking action to improve the population’s health. Just 16% of the public think the government has the right policies to improve public health, while half (49%) disagree.

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Technical note

The survey was conducted between 5 and 10 May 2023 using Ipsos's UK KnowledgePanel, a random probability online panel. We surveyed 2,450 people aged 16 years and older in the UK. The sample was reviewed on key demographics to ensure a balanced sample was selected. Weighting was applied to the data to ensure the survey results are as representative of the UK population as possible. Calibration weighting was applied to region and an interlocked variable of Gender by Age; and demographic weights were applied to Education, Ethnicity, Index of Multiple Deprivation (quintiles), and number of adults in the household. A response rate of 56% was achieved.

The survey covers a range of public perceptions including: expectations and perceptions of the NHS and social care; views on private healthcare; perceptions of funding for the NHS; the challenges facing general practice; views on the cost of living crisis; support for government interventions in the area of public health; and views on health inequalities.