Patients no longer have faith that the NHS will be there for them when they need it, a bombshell study reveals today.
The research exposes a critical ‘public confidence crisis’, with some people so worried about the decline in standards that they have started to put off seeking care.
The once-treasured service is now more likely to evoke fears of delays and waste than a sense of pride, it found.
Leading doctors and charities last night described the collapse in trust as ‘frightening’ and called for urgent action to restore the bond.
Meanwhile, fewer than half of Britons now think the NHS offers taxpayers good value for money after Labour’s spending splurge failed to deliver any noticeable improvements.
People still face difficulties accessing a GP, ambulance or hospital bed despite Chancellor Rachel Reeves injecting an extra £25billion into healthcare at last year’s Budget.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, admitted last week that ‘a lot’ of the extra cash has already been swallowed up by pay rises and inflation.
The damning findings come in exclusive polling of a representative sample of 1,087 British adults, conducted by Ipsos for the Daily Mail and The Guardian.
The exclusive findings (above) come from polling of a representative sample of more than 1000 adults in the UK
Chancellor Rachel Reeves injected an extra £25billion into healthcare at last year’s Budget, yet people still face difficulties accessing a GP, ambulance or hospital bed
Chief executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, admitted last week that ‘a lot’ of the extra cash from the budget has already been swallowed up by pay rises and inflation
It found 74 per cent of respondents are ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned about ambulance response times and 70 per cent are worried about the availability of GP appointments.
Some 77 per cent are ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned about the availability of beds in their A&E, with 78 per cent anxious they may have to wait on a trolley in a corridor.
Among those concerned about ambulance response times, 58 per cent said this makes them more likely to seek an alternative form of transport. It comes after the Mail reported that business is ‘booming’ at a company that allows patients to book a private ambulance through an app.
Furthermore, 40 per cent of people concerned about capacity at their local A&E say this would make them less likely to seek emergency care if they needed it.
Only 47 per cent of the public believe the NHS offers good value for money, and just 58 per cent believe it provides a high standard of care.
The things people are most likely to think of when they hear ‘NHS’ are ‘long waiting times’ (57 per cent), followed by ‘understaffed’ (51 per cent) and ‘delays’ (27 per cent), the polling found.
Only 16 per cent said ‘amazing’, 20 per cent ‘proud’ and 25 per cent ‘high quality of care’.
Dr Adrian Boyle, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: ‘Research like this shows that people are losing their trust and faith in the system to be able to look after them when they need it most.
‘People admitting that they would not seek emergency help because they are too afraid of ending up on a trolley in a corridor in an overcrowded A&E is worrying and frightening in equal measure.’
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: ‘These findings reveal a shocking level of public fear about accessing urgent and emergency care.
‘Patients experiencing a health emergency should never have to think twice about calling an ambulance or going to A&E, yet many now feel they have no choice but to delay seeking help or attempt alternative travel options.
‘This is not just a crisis of NHS capacity; it’s a crisis of public trust.
‘Long waits and overcrowding are leaving patients in danger and eroding confidence in a service that has long been a source of national pride.’
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly patients, said Labour has failed to deliver the improvements it had promised despite increased spending.
He added: ‘People used to say the NHS was the jewel in the crown and the best health service the world. They were immensely proud of it.
‘There is still a huge amount of loyalty to the NHS but there is no pride anymore.
‘It is extremely sad and a disgracefully long fall from top of the world to people left waiting on trolleys in corridors.
‘More and more people do not see what is happening with the money that is going into the NHS.
‘Even among people who support big investment in the health service, there is a feeling that this money is going into a bottomless pit.’
An NHS England spokesman said it remains ‘absolutely vital’ that people come forward for care when they have health concerns’.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘People are right to be angry. The NHS is broken, but it’s not beaten, and this government is unwavering in our commitment to turn it around.’
