Trust In Doctors

Trust in doctors is at its highest for over 20 years, according to MORI's annual survey of trust in the professions. MORI found more than nine in 10 members of the public (92%) trust doctors to tell the truth. This is higher than the rating for any other professional group included in the survey, and the highest since it began in 1983.

23 March 2004

Trust in Professions

The least trusted groups are journalists (20%), politicians (22%) and government ministers (23%). After doctors, trust is highest in teachers (89%) and professors (80%).

More than nine in 10 members of the public (92%) are satisfied with the way doctors do their jobs, compared with fewer than three in 10 (27%) for politicians. Most believe doctors are hardworking (87%), committed (85%) and helpful (83%).

A third (33%) do not think that doctors are supported by the NHS, compared with 46% who say they are. Almost half (47%) believe doctors are underpaid, compared to sixteen per cent who believe they are overpaid. More than four in 10 (43%) believe doctors are supportive of the NHS, compared to 34% who think they are critical of the NHS.

This year MORI conducted a separate survey of politicians' attitudes to doctors. It found that three quarters of MPs (74%) believe doctors are patient-focused, as opposed to self-centred (18%) [1]. Most MPs have a positive view of doctors working in the NHS. They see them as committed (92%), hardworking (87%) and vocationally driven (74%). As well as believing they work effectively (82%) the majority view doctors as helpful (83%). Almost as many MPs as members of the public trust doctors to tell the truth (89% compared to 92%). [2]

A small minority (7%) believe doctors are both patient-focused and self-centred
A further 3% of MPs say doctors are both trustworthy and untrustworthy -- presumably because they were thinking of different doctors, or different circumstances.

Technical details

General Public Interviews: MORI Social Research Institute interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,004 adults aged 15+ in 196 sampling points across Great Britain, via omnibus methodology. Interviews were conducted face-to-face, in-home, from 26 February - 2 March 2004, using CAPI (computer assisted personal interviewing). All data have been weighted to the known profile of the British population.

Interviews with MPs: MORI interviewed a representative sample of 102 MPs from all sides of the House (Labour: 59, Conservative: 28 and Others: 15), on one of its twice-annual parliamentary surveys, from 3 November - 15 December 2003, using face-to-face interviews

Topline Results

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?

Base: All (2,004)

	Tell the truth	Not tell the truth	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%
Doctors	92	5	3
Teachers	89	7	5
Television News Readers	70	20	10
Professors	80	9	11
Judges	75	16	8
Clergyman/Priests	75	17	8
Scientists	69	19	12
The Police	63	28	10
The ordinary man/woman in the street	55	29	17
Pollsters	49	30	21
Civil Servants	51	37	13
Trade Union officials	39	44	17
Business Leaders	30	58	13
Journalists	20	72	8
Politicians generally	22	71	7
Government Ministers	23	70	8

Q2 Using this showcard, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way the following types of people do their jobs?

Base: All (2,004)

	Very satisfied	Fairly satisfied	Neither	Fairly dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Accountants	9	49	24	5	1	11
Doctors	39	53	3	4	1	1
Nurses	55	40	2	1	*	*
Teachers	34	52	7	4	1	2
The Police	14	53	13	13	5	1
Politicians generally	2	26	23	30	18	2
Government Ministers	2	25	23	29	19	3
Dentists	26	56	8	6	2	3
Lawyers	11	43	22	11	4	9
Judges	11	47	17	13	5	7

Q3 Which, if either, of the following in your view most accurately describes doctors in general working in the NHS?

Base: All (2,004)

	A	B	Both A&B	Neither	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%	%	%
(A) Helpful or (B) Unhelpful	83	8	6	1	3
(A) Hardworking or (B) Lazy	87	4	4	2	3
(A) Effective or (B) Ineffective	80	9	7	1	4
(A) Supported by the NHS or (B) Unsupported by the NHS	46	33	8	3	11
(A) Patient-focussed or (B) Self-centred	73	13	9	1	4
(A) Committed or (B) Uncommitted	85	6	6	1	3
(A) Overpaid or (B) Underpaid	16	47	7	12	18
(A) Vocationally-driven or (B) Financially-driven	60	19	12	2	7
(A) Accommodating or (B) Aloof	68	16	10	2	5
(A) Supportive of the NHS or (B) Critical of the NHS	43	34	10	2	11
(A) Efficient or (B) Inefficient	75	13	7	2	3

Q3a Which, if either of the following, in your view, most accurately describes doctors in general working in the NHS?

Omnibus Base: c.2,000 British adults aged 15+ each year. MPs: 101 MPs

	A - MPs	A - Omnibus	B - MPs	B - Omnibus	Both - MPs	Both - Omnibus
	%	%	%	%	%	%
(A) Helpful or (B) Unhelpful	83	83	7	8	7	6
(A) Hardworking or (B) Lazy	87	87	4	4	8	4
(A) Effective or (B) Ineffective	82	80	12	9	6	7
(A) Supported by the NHS or (B) Unsupported by the NHS	79	46	15	33	3	8
(A) Patient-focused or (B) Self-centred	74	73	18	13	7	9
(A) Committed or (B) Uncommitted	92	85	6	6	1	6
(A) Overpaid or (B) Underpaid	12	16	32	47	7	7
(A) Vocationally-driven or (B) Financially-driven	74	60	9	19	14	12
(A) Accommodating or (B) Aloof	44	68	30	16	17	10
(A) Supportive of the NHS or (B) Critical of the NHS	54	43	31	34	14	10
(A) Efficient or (B) Inefficient	65	75	23	13	11	7

Q3b Which, if either of the following, in your view, most accurately describes doctors in general working in the NHS?

	Neither - MPs	Neither - Omnibus	Don't know - MPs	Don't know - Omnibus
	%	%	%	%
(A) Helpful or (B) Unhelpful	2	1	1	3
(A) Hardworking or (B) Lazy	1	2	0	3
(A) Effective or (B) Ineffective	0	1	1	4
(A) Supported by the NHS or (B) Unsupported by the NHS	2	3	1	11
(A) Patient-focused or (B) Self-centred	1	1	0	4
(A) Committed or (B) Uncommitted	0	1	1	3
(A) Overpaid or (B) Underpaid	45	12	5	18
(A) Vocationally-driven or (B) Financially-driven	3	2	0	7
(A) Accommodating or (B) Aloof	8	2	2	5
(A) Supportive of the NHS or (B) Critical of the NHS	0	2	0	11
(A) Efficient or (B) Inefficient	0	2	1	3

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