Only a third of the public think the NHS is providing a good service nationally, yet support for the founding principles remains strong
The public think that the standard of care of the NHS and social care have got worse over the past 12 months, and only a third of the public think the NHS is providing a good service nationally, according to a new Ipsos survey for The Health Foundation.
The Health Foundation has partnered with Ipsos to deliver a 2-year programme of research into public 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 third survey show:
- There is deepening public concern about NHS services. Nearly two thirds (63%) think the general standard of care has got worse in the past 12 months. Across the UK, only a third (33%) of the public think the NHS is providing a good service nationally, a significant fall from the previous survey (43%) in May 2022. Additionally, just 10% think their national government has the right policies for the NHS.
- Yet, the public remain supportive of the founding principles of the NHS. A clear majority think the NHS should be free at the point of delivery (90%), provide a comprehensive service available to everyone (89%), and should be funded primarily through taxation (84%).
- The majority of the public also think the NHS needs an increase in funding (82%). They think this additional funding should be paid for through a number of different schemes; there is the most support for an additional tax that is earmarked specifically for the NHS (36%), as well as an increase in income tax (25%) and an increase in National Insurance (25%).
- The public’s top priorities for the NHS are: addressing the pressure on NHS staff (40%), increasing the number of staff (39%) and improving waiting times for treatment (35%). Waiting times in A&E has also moved up as a priority since the previous survey, from 25% in May 2022 to 31% in November 2022.
Technical note
The survey was conducted between 24 and 30 Nov 2022 using Ipsos's UK KnowledgePanel a random probability online panel. We surveyed 2,063 people aged 16 years and older in the UK. The sample was stratified by nation and education and delivered a response rate of 58%. A weighting spec was applied to the data in line with the target sample profile; this included one which corrected for unequal probabilities of selection of household members (to account for two members who may have been selected from one household), and weights for region, an interlocked variable of Gender by Age, Education, Ethnicity, Index of Multiple Deprivation (quintiles), and number of adults in the household.
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.
