Bureaucracy Still Seen by Britons as Biggest Problem with NHS
The proportion of respondents who say the NHS works well and only needs minor changes increased by six points since October 2011.
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(07/30/12) -
While there has been a noticeable spike in the proportion of Britons who are satisfied with the National Health Service (NHS), more than a third of respondents believe bureaucracy and poor management remain its biggest hurdles, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 2,033 British adults, 35 per cent of respondents (+6 since October 2011) think the NHS works well, and only minor changes are needed to make it work better.
Half of Britons (52%, -5) believe there are some good things in the NHS, but many changes are required. Only one-in-ten respondents (9%, -1) believe the NHS has to be completely rebuilt.
Trust in the NHS
Three-in-four Britons (74%, +2) are “very confident” or “moderately confident” that they would have access to all the help that they would need from doctors and hospitals if they were to become sick, while 24 per cent (-2) have little confidence or no confidence at all
A sizeable majority of those who are confident they would get the help they need (59%) outline their trust on UK physicians and nurses. Conversely, most of those who express little or no confidence in the NHS (59%) cite concerns over cuts to services.
Challenges
Britons continue to believe that the biggest problem facing the NHS is bureaucracy and poor management (37%, -3), followed by inadequate resources and facilities (13%), long waiting times (also 13%), shortage of doctors and nurses (also 13%), and insufficient hygiene standards (6%).
Other Ways to Seek Help
As was the case last year, respondents are evenly split on whether they would be willing to pay to have quicker access to medical services that currently have long waiting times (36% would pay; 36% would not). The proportion of Britons who would consider traveling to another country to have quicker access to medical services has fallen to 21 per cent.
Analysis
More than a third of Britons endorse the operations of the NHS, while half continue to believe that many changes are required. Three-in-four respondents believe that they would get the help they need if they were to become sick. Bureaucracy is still identified as a problem, but at a lower incidence than last year.
Age continues to play a role in perceptions of the NHS. Practically half of respondents over the age of 55 (48%) say that bureaucracy is the biggest hindrance—compared to just 24 per cent of those aged 18-to-34. Younger Britons are primarily concerned about long waiting times, while those aged 35-to-54 are more likely to question the adequacy of resources and facilities.
Download Full Methodology Statement
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From June 12 to June 13, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,033 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
