Ipsos MORI: NHS at 65

Version 1 | Confidential© Ipsos MORI
What the public think of the NHS at 65
Ipsos MORI, July 2013

Q Which two or three of the following, if any, would you say makes you most
proud to be British?
The NHS remains the closest thing we have to religion
45
40
38
36
16
10
6
6
4
4
3
2
1
6
5
The NHS
The Armed Forces
Team GB
The Royal Family
BBC
Nothing
British Business
Houses of Parliament
Marks & Spencer
John Lewis
Oxfam
Women's Institute
Tesco
Other
Don't Know
Base: 2515 British Adults 16-75, Online Fieldwork conducted between 23rd-27th November 2012 Source: British Future Polling – State of the Nation 2012/3, Ipsos MORI
%

Q Please tell me whether on the whole you agree or disagree with each of the
following statements:
Pride in the NHS is high, with the majority thinking Britain’s
health service is one of the best in the world
Base: Adults aged 16+ in England (c. 1000 per wave) Source: Ipsos MORI/DH Perceptions of the NHS Tracker
71
30
40
50
60
70
80 % agree
Britain’s National Health Service is one
of the best in the world

69
17
52
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Net satisfaction scores are calculated by subtracting the proportion of people who are dissatisfied from the proportion of people
who are satisfied.
Q Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the running of the
National Health Service nowadays?
Satisfaction with the NHS has been pretty steady – and high
%
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Net satisfied

People born before the NHS was created are much more
satisfied with the NHS than other generations
Data: BSA 1983-2010. Each data point represents >100 respondents
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1983198419861987198919901991199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Pre War (born before 1945) Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965)
Generation X (born 1966-1979) Generation Y (born 1980 onwards)

Q Now thinking about the last time you visited an NHS hospital/ your local doctor or
GP, overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied were you with this last visit as a patient?
While patients who have used NHS services recently are very
satisfied with the services they have accessed
Base: Adults aged 16+ in England: NHS overall (c. 1000 per wave); GP – all visiting GP in last year (c. 750 per wave); Outpatient – all
whose last hospital visit was an outpatient (c. 300 per wave); Inpatient – all whose last hospital visit was an inpatient (c. 100 per wave)*;
A&E – all whose last hospital visit was to A&E (c. 100 per wave)* Source: Ipsos MORI/DH Perceptions of the NHS Tracker
*N.B small base size means comparison of figures and trends is indicative only
% Satisfied
** Overall, how satisfied are you with the running
of the National Health Service nowadays?
85
85
81
78
69

The report described ‘a tolerance of poor standards’ at Mid Staffordshire. To what
extent, if at all, do you think other hospitals in the NHS have these problems?
But there is some concern about quality in the wake of the Francis report,
with 28% thinking all/most hospitals have similar problems
5
23
50
13
0.5
8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
All hospitals in the
NHS have problems
like this
Most hospitals in the
NHS have problems
like this
Some hospitals in the
NHS have problems
like this
Very few hospitals in
the NHS have
problems like this
No other hospitals in
the NHS have
problems like this
Don’t know
Base: All (1,010) 13th-16th April 2013 Source: Ipsos MORI/HSJ Friends and Family test

And things have changed greatly since the NHS was established
in 1948
Sources: ONS, NHS Choices, WHO, The Society for the Social History of Medicine
Population Population
Over 65sOver 65s
Life expectancy
Average BMI
Life expectancy
Average BMI
NHS budget NHS budget

So the NHS will need to
continue to adapt…
… but what do the public
think?

How will it
balance the
books?

Q Overall, what do you see as the biggest problems facing the NHS?
The public agree there is a resourcing challenge: they see a lack
of resources/investment as the biggest problem facing the NHS
%
0
10
20
30
40
50
Lack of
resources/investment
Bureaucracy/top
heavy management
Not enough doctors
/nurses/understaffed
Overworked staff
Long waiting lists/times
8
39
20
19
14
Spontaneous mentions over 10%

% Strongly disagree
They think the NHS will face a severe funding problem in the future –
but do not all accept there should be limits on spending
Source: Ipsos MORI/DH Perceptions of the NHS Tracker
% Don’t know% Tend to agree% Strongly agree % Tend to disagree
39%
43%
7%
2%
8% 11%
47%
25%
14%
4%
The NHS will face a severe
funding problem in the future
There should always be limits
on what is spent on the NHS
Base: Adults aged 16+ in England, Spring 2012 (1001)

While the NHS is seen as the largest area for spending by the UK
Government, there is very little appetite for cutting it
Q. Which two or three, if any, of the following areas do you think the UK Government spends the most money on?
Q. Which two or three, if any, of the following areas do you think the UK Government should cut the most money from?
Source: Ipsos MORI Political Monitor
50
45
28
22
14
12
11
9
5
3
5
44
28
55
8
3
2
10
4
1
The NHS/Healthcare
Benefit payments
Defence and armed forces
Overseas aid
Social services
State pensions
Schools
Local authority services
Police
Care for the elderly
Most spent on
Should cut
Base: 1,018 British adults 18+, 9th - 11th March 2013

What role
should the NHS
play versus the
individual in
maintaining the
nation’s health?

15
5% 4% 25% 27% 39%
Two-thirds believe that people have a responsibility to look after
their health
Base: 1,646 British adults 15+, 23-29th April 2010 Source: Ipsos MORI
It is the job of the NHS to
keep people healthy
It is the individual’s responsibility
to keep themselves healthy
I am going to read out two statements, one at either end of a scale. Please
tell me where your view fits on this scale.
Q I am going to read out two statements, one at either end of a scale. Please

16
17% 18% 15% 35% 14%
Half think that the NHS should limit free treatment if people
are ‘unhealthy’
% Tend to
agree
% Neither
agree nor
disagree
% Strongly
disagree
% Strongly
agree
% Tend to
disagree
Q How much, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
If people choose not to take care of their health, the NHS should be able to
limit the treatment it offers them for free.

17
32%
37%
36%
13%
16%
15%
53%
45%
47%
And younger people are more likely to believe that free
treatment should be limited
Base: 1,646 British adults 15+, 23-29th April 2010
35-54
55+
15-34s
Source: Ipsos MORI
% Agree% Neither agree
nor disagree
% Disagree
Q How much, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
If people choose not to take care of their health, the NHS should be able to
limit the treatment it offers them for free.

18
31% 21% 26% 14% 9%
Yet most people are not quite ready to give less priority to
people choosing unhealthy lifestyles
The NHS should give less priority
to people who do not take care of
their health
The NHS should be there to
take care of people regardless
of why they are ill
Q I am going to read out two statements, one at either end of a scale. Please

How & where
will it provide
services?

Opinion is divided about how well the NHS is responding to
provide the services that will be needed in the future
The NHS is changing so it can provide the
service we need for years to come
%
Agree
Disagree

Q The NHS may move more services which have traditionally been provided in hospitals out
into the community. This will mean more services are provided through GP practices or
clinics or by NHS staff delivering them in patients’ homes. How much better or worse do you
think this will make services for patients?
20%
46%
16%
10%
4%3%
Strongly disagree
Don’t know
People are not theoretically against moving more services from
hospitals into the community
Source: Ipsos MORI/DH Perceptions of the NHS Tracker
Neither agree nor disagree
Strongly agree
Tend to disagree
Tend to agree
Base: Adults aged 16+ in England, November-December 2011 (1001)

But when it affects their own local services, the public is
concerned about the implications

So what do the public think
about the future of the NHS,
given these challenges?

Q Thinking about the NHS over the next few years do you expect it to get
better or worse?
Public opinion is divided in its optimism about the future of the NHS, with
roughly equal proportions saying it will get better and worse
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
%
Better 35
Worse 32

For further information, please contact:
anna.quigley@ipsos.com
Anna Quigley
Head of Health Research, Ipsos MORI
+44.20.7347.3996
Click here to see a video of what the
public think of the NHS

Ipsos MORI: NHS at 65

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Ipsos MORI: NHS at 65

Similar to Ipsos MORI: NHS at 65 (20)

More from Ipsos UK

More from Ipsos UK (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Ipsos MORI: NHS at 65