• The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust have published the 2018 British Social Attitudes survey findings on public satisfaction with the NHS and social care.
• The findings show that public satisfaction with the NHS fell by 3 percentage points to 53%.
• Satisfaction with general practice remained at historically low levels, whilst hospital inpatient and outpatient services saw an increase in satisfaction.
• The founding principle of the NHS, that it is free at the point of use, remains one of the primary reasons people are satisfied with the NHS.
• Concerns over waiting times, NHS staff shortages and inadequate funding remained the top three reasons people gave for being dissatisfied with the NHS in 2018.
  
  

Responding to the latest findings of the British Social Attitudes survey, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin said:

“It is reassuring to see that these findings make clear that the public’s continued support for the founding principles of the NHS – a service which is free at the point of use and universal.

We were pleased to see that the general public continue to view the quality and breadth of services and the attitudes of frontline staff positively.

Miriam Deakin    Director of Policy and Strategy

“We were pleased to see that the general public continue to view the quality and breadth of services and the attitudes of frontline staff positively. Public satisfaction with inpatient and outpatient services remains high, with further improvements in satisfaction with the quality of services they receive.

“However overall satisfaction with the NHS has slipped amid lengthening waiting times and staff shortages. In fact the public’s concerns reflect those of trusts, and the wider funding, staffing and demand pressures that health and care services face.

In fact the public’s concerns reflect those of trusts, and the wider funding, staffing and demand pressures that health and care services face.

Miriam Deakin    Director of Policy and Strategy

“The implementation of the accompanying NHS long term plan must support health and care services to address these pressure points, and ensure the additional funding for the NHS is prioritised and invested wisely, if we are to drive up public satisfaction with NHS services overall.”