Responding to analysis by Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund of the 2022 British Social Attitudes Survey, which shows that public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to 29% – the lowest level since the survey began in 1983 – Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers said:

"Public satisfaction with the NHS has slipped following a deeply challenging period for the health service.

"Years of inadequate funding and chronic underinvestment in capital and workforce have piled on the pressure. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and now industrial action. Strikingly, however, the public is still committed to the founding principles of the NHS.

"Trust leaders and their staff also remain dedicated to recovering services and delivering high-quality care for all patients. They're working tirelessly to reduce care backlogs – including in community and mental health services – as well as treating those waiting longest for planned care, getting people access to cancer treatment sooner and recovering urgent and emergency care.

"A fully costed and funded national workforce plan would help shore up vital resources – as would increasing investment in social care. We also urge the government and unions to resolve ongoing pay disputes without delay. Any settlement agreed must be funded by new money and not taken from existing budgets."