Public satisfaction with GP services in the UK has fallen to the lowest level in 30 years and dissatisfaction with the country’s National Health Service (NHS) overall has reached its highest level for a decade. The Guardian reports that this is according to authoritative polling which found that voters are increasingly concerned about staff shortages in the NHS, long waits to receive care and the amount of money given to health services.
The report says the research findings are from the latest British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey into people’s opinions about the NHS, collected by the National Centre for Social Research. Only 65% of the representative sample of 3,004 people in England, Scotlandand Wales questioned last autumn were satisfied with GP services, the lowest percentage since records began in 1983. That is sharply down on the 80% satisfaction rating seen as recently as 2009. Satisfaction fell by 7% between 2016 and 2017 alone in what experts said reflected public frustration at the increasing difficulty in getting a timely GP appointment. ….more