BRITISH PUBLIC'S SHOCKING LOSS OF FAITH IN NHS

Lowest level of satisfaction in health service is 'warning siren', says expert | Love and pride in NHS still strong ...but satisfaction sinks to new low

- Hanna Geissler

SHOCKINGLY long wait times and widespread staff shortages have led to the public losing faith in the NHS, a report reveals.

Satisfaction in our health system is now at the lowest level ever recorded due to the massive backlog in treatment caused by the pandemic.

Although the public still overwhelmingly supports the NHS's founding principles, including care free at the point of use, just 29 per cent said they were now satisfied with it, the British Social Attitudes survey found.

The crisis in the NHS means 7.2 million people were waiting for treatment in January, with three million waiting more than 18 weeks. The battle to try to reduce the backlog has been hampered by low staffing levels, with 137,000 unfilled posts across the NHS and industrial action by nurses and junior doctors.

The latest findings for 2022 have been published today by The Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund.

Jessica Morris, report author and fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: "The fact we have now recorded the lowest level of satisfaction with the NHS in the 40-year history of this gold standard survey is a warning siren.

"The Prime Minister has made recovering the NHS one of his central promises going into the next general election, but these results show what an enormous task this will be.

"It is clear that the level of unhappiness among the British public over the way the NHS is running is going to take many years to recover."