Majority of public believe the NHS is understaffed and it’s likely to get worse

A recent Omnibus survey by Ipsos shows that four in five (79%) believe that the NHS does not have enough staff to provide a good service, only 7% believe that it has the right amount, while 6% think it has too many. Therefore, pessimism about the future of staff shortages comes as no great surprise. Overall, 56% believe that staff shortages will get worse over the next few years and this rises to 64% among those who think there are currently not enough staff.

Just over four in five (83%) also believe that NHS staff are currently overworked. The pre-war generation are less likely to believe this than younger generations, with only 69% agreeing compared with 84% to 85% across younger generations.

With widespread belief that NHS staff are overworked and that this is likely to get worse, it is perhaps unsurprising that only half of the public (50%) would encourage a friend or family member to consider a career in the NHS. Those close to the NHS (i.e. those who either work in the NHS or have a close family member or friend working for the NHS) are more likely to suggest it as a career path than those that do not have a connection (57% and 47% respectively). Similarly, three in five of those that are close to the NHS (60%) believe that it is a good employer, while this decreases to half of those without an affiliation (50%).

Concerns surrounding the lack of NHS staff translate into support for special visas for EU citizens to work as doctors and nurses on leaving the EU: 84% want special visas to be available to doctors, while 82% want them for nurses – more than any other profession asked about (including academics 73%, care home workers 66% and construction labourers 56%).

Despite the concerns around staff shortages and overworked staff in the NHS, three-quarters of the public (76%) believe staff provide quality care to their patients. Those aged 55 to 75 are most likely to believe this, with 83% agreeing that NHS staff provide high quality care to their patients, while only two thirds of those aged between 16 and 24 (66%) feel the same way.

Rachel Worsley, Research Director at Ipsos, says:

These recent findings show that the public are not only aware of staff shortages, but are also sympathetic to the pressures faced by staff working in the NHS. This doesn’t dampen the public’s positivity about the care they receive – something we see time and time again in our research, and is testament to the work NHS staff do. But the public are pessimistic about the future for the workforce, and they are unsure about recommending a career in the NHS. This poses challenges for the NHS in being a great place to work.

Technical Note

• A total of 1,105 adults aged between 16 and 75 completed the survey online across the UK.

• Data were weighted to be representative of the UK adult population.

• Fieldwork took place between 3rd and 4th October 2019.

• Unless otherwise stated, all percentages and data are from the total participants and differences between groups are statistically significant.