Public Satisfaction with the NHS Hits Record Low

The British public’s satisfaction with the UK National Health Service hit a new low in 2022, according to NatCen’s British Social Attitudes report. The data, analyzed by The King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust, found that last year, only 29 percent of respondents said they were either ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied with the way the NHS runs nowadays, marking a seven percentage point decrease from one year before. Meanwhile, 51 percent said they were 'very' or 'quite' dissatisfied and 20 percent answered more neutrally.

The last couple of years saw declines in overall satisfaction, dropping 17 percentage points from 2020 to 2021, to hit 36 percent, before falling once more in 2022. Between 2021 and 2022 satisfaction dropped in almost all population groups. While Conservative party supporters registered slightly higher levels of satisfaction (35 percent) compared to Labour party supporters (27 percent), both still saw the lowest levels since records began in 1983. According to The King’s Fund, this pattern - of supporters of the political party in power generally reporting higher levels of satisfaction than supporters of the main opposition party - is a trend that has been seen in previous BSA surveys.

The three main reasons for dissatisfaction in 2022 included it taking ‘too long to get a general practitioner or hospital appointment’, ‘Not enough NHS staff’ and that the ‘government doesn’t spend enough money on the NHS’. While the key reasons cited for satisfaction with the NHS were because ‘NHS care is free at the point of use’, there was a ‘good range of services and treatments available' and the 'attitudes and behavior of NHS staff'.

According to the King’s Fund, the methodology of the survey changed between 2020 and previous years, however, data has been carefully weighted to minimize the differences.