The Public's Trust In Doctors Rises

The public's trust in doctors has risen over the past year, according to a MORI opinion poll published today. Ninety one per cent of people thought that doctors tell the truth, making doctors the most trusted of the professions and occupations listed. Just six per cent of people thought that doctors do not tell the truth.

19 February 2002

Trust in Professions

The MORI poll, conducted after a series of high profile stories about healthcare and the state of the NHS, including MMR, also found that 91 per cent of people were very or fairly satisfied with the job that doctors do.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Ian Bogle, Chairman of the BMA's Council, said:

"These findings show the rock on which the trust between doctors and their patients is built. The public's trust in doctors is now at its joint highest level for almost 20 years, despite numerous recent stories that might have undermined patients' faith in medical care. The public is obviously able to peel away the sensationalism that often surrounds debate on health, and is able to put stories in perspective."

"Doctors, however, are not complacent. We know that trust has to be earned. That is why we have been leading changes to the way our profession is regulated, and why we will always be willing to consider further ways in which we can maintain the public's trust in us."

The poll also found that:

61 per cent of people thought that doctors spent too much time on paperwork and not enough time seeing patients
84 per cent of people would be happy to see a pharmacist instead of their GP to repeat an existing prescription, if necessary
87 per cent of people would be happy to be seen by a nurse rather than a doctor, if their conditions were not serious.

Topline Results

1,972 interviews with adults aged 15+ conducted in-home, face-to-face
Fieldwork conducted 7-13 February 2002
198 sampling points throughout Great Britain
Base all (1,972) unless otherwise stated
Data weighted to equivalent population profile
'*' denotes a finding of less than half a per cent but more than zero.
Where figures do not add up to 100% this is due to computer rounding or multiple answers

Q1 Now I will read you a list of different types of people. For each would you tell me if you generally trust them to tell the truth, or not?

	Tell the truth	Not tell the truth	Don't know
	%	%	%
Doctors	91	6	2
Teachers	85	10	5
Television News Readers	71	19	11
Professors	77	11	11
Judges	77	15	8
Clergyman/Priests	80	14	5
Scientists	64	23	13
The Police	59	31	10
The ordinary man/woman in the street	54	31	15
Pollsters	47	35	17
Civil Servants	45	42	14
Trade Union officials	37	49	14
Business Leaders	25	62	13
Journalists	13	79	8
Politicians generally	19	73	8
Government Ministers	20	72	8

Q2 How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way the following types of people do their jobs?

	Very satisfied	Fairly satisfied	Neither	Fairly dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	No opinion	Satisfied	Dissatisfied
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Accountants	10	47	23	6	2	12	56	8
Doctors	37	54	4	4	1	0	91	4
Nurses	54	40	3	2	0	0	94	2
Teachers	28	56	7	5	1	3	84	6
The Police	14	54	13	13	5	1	68	18
Politicians generally	1	29	23	29	16	2	31	44
Government Ministers	2	28	23	29	16	3	30	45
Dentists	27	57	7	5	1	2	85	7
Lawyers	9	47	20	11	3	9	56	15
Judges	10	50	17	11	4	8	60	15

Q3 Which, if any, of these types of people, do you feel, are underpaid for the job they do?

	%
Accountants	1
Doctors	32
Nurses	85
Teachers	58
The Police	37
Politicians generally	2
Government Ministers	1
Dentists	6
Lawyers	1
Judges	1

All of these	0
None of these	7

Don't know	3

Q4 How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about doctors?

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion	Agree	Disagree
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
I have to wait too long to see my GP these days	18	25	10	31	15	2	43	45
I would be happy to deal with a nurse rather than a doctor if my condition was not a serious one	35	52	4	6	2	0	87	8
Patients expect too much of doctors	20	47	13	16	3	1	67	19
If you want to be sure that you are getting the best treatment, you need to see a hospital consultant and not someone less senior	16	37	15	25	5	2	54	29
Doctors spend too much time on paperwork and not enough time seeing patients	23	37	17	13	2	7	61	15
I'd be happy to see a pharmacist instead of my GP to repeat an existing prescription, if necessary	39	45	4	8	3	1	84	12
Those who run hospitals pay too little attention to the rights and feelings of patients	23	39	15	16	3	3	63	19
Doctors are no more and no less likely to make a mistake than you or I	23	56	7	11	2	1	79	13
I would rather spend longer with my GP than get an appointment more quickly	14	34	20	27	5	2	47	31
People don't do enough themselves to prevent ill-health	29	52	10	7	1	1	81	8

Q5a As you may have heard or read, doctors have been reported in the press or on TV recently in an unfavourable light e.g. the Bristol surgeon inquiry and stories about Alder Hey and other hospitals retaining body parts.

Thinking about those stories, how well or badly would you say that most doctors do their job nowadays?

Base: 948

	%
Very well	24
Fairly well	63
Neither well nor badly	8
Fairly badly	3
Very badly	1
Don't know / No opinion	1

Well	88
Badly	3

Q5b As you may have heard or read, doctors are sometimes reported in the press or on TV in an unfavourable light.

Thinking about those stories, how well or badly would you say that most doctors do their job nowadays?

Base: 1,024

	%
Very well	28
Fairly well	61
Neither well nor badly	7
Fairly badly	3
Very badly	1
Don't know / No opinion	1

Well	89
Badly	4

Q6 How many times in the past twelve months or so have you personally ...

	None	Once	2-3 times	4-5 times	6-10 times	Over 10 times	Don't know / Can't remember
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Visited your GP's surgery to see your GP or family doctor	21	20	28	12	10	9	0
Had an appointment with a hospital doctor	58	16	15	5	2	3	0

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