Mid Staffs: what impact has it had?

The poor standards unearthed by inquiries into the events at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust make for emotive subject matter – perfect material to be used as political weaponry. We saw it feature during the party-leader debates, but what do the public actually think about the Mid Staffs affair, and what impact has it had on their perceptions of the NHS?

Our data shows that at the time of the Francis report, the majority (82%) of the public had heard at least something about the problems at Mid Staffs, and almost a quarter (22%) said they knew a great deal – perhaps unsurprising given the level of attention it received from the media.

And the public believe that Mid Staffs was not an isolated incident. Most (92%) think there is a tolerance of poor standards in at least some hospitals. Over half (52%) of people blamed NHS managers for the patient care problems at Stafford Hospital – a far higher proportion than those who blamed nurses (7%) or doctors (3%).

Despite this, the public remain very positive about the NHS overall. Around half (52%) say it is one of the things that makes them proud to be British – a higher proportion than those who feel this way about the armed forces or the Royal Family. And the public are highly satisfied with NHS services. Nearly eight in ten (78%) state that their local NHS is providing them with a good service and 75% say the NHS is one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Almost three-quarters (73%) think that patients are treated with dignity and respect and a similar proportion (72%) believe people are treated with compassion – both highly relevant to the Mid Staffs affair. This begs the question, then, as to how much impact the Mid Staffs controversy has really had on the public’s overall perceptions of the NHS.

Yet we do know that people are concerned about the future of the NHS. There are widespread concerns over funding, with 88% of people thinking that there will be severe funding issues in the future. There are also worries about NHS care deteriorating. Almost as many people disagree as agree that the NHS can provide the service we need for years to come (44% agree vs. 41% disagree). At the same time, recent data shows that nine in ten people (88%) say that we need many more nurses in hospitals to deliver safe care.

And it seems that the public recognise that the NHS, and the way in which it provides services, needs to change; for example, two-thirds (66%) are in favour of moving some health services into the community. But our work also shows that the public dislike the consequences this will have on their local hospitals. The top reason people historically give for expecting services to get worse in their area over the next few years is the closure of local hospitals and A+E departments. People associate closing services with worsening care, and they ultimately link this to funding ‘cuts’. This illustrates the difficulties facing those trying to prevent another Mid Staffs (both politicians and within the NHS); while the public want change, they are also worried about it.

While the Mid Staffs scandal was widely reported on, it does not appear to have shaken the public’s fondness for, and trust in, the NHS. It was seen as terrible incident, but it is not one that will alter people’s fundamental beliefs in the healthcare system. However, while Mid Staffs might not have affected public perceptions of the NHS, the challenge remains for whoever is in power after the election – how do you transform services while keeping the public on side?

• Click here to download associated charts (PDF)
• This blog was written by Lauren Bridges and David Hills