Third of people in England lack confidence they can access critical NHS services
A third of adults in England lack confidence that they can access timely care, including GP services, mental health support and hospital care. Read the findings and our calls to action.
New research suggests that people need more confidence that the NHS can provide timely care.
As the winter period approaches, we commissioned a representative survey of adults living in England to understand public confidence in accessing essential NHS services. We also wanted to know how much this had changed since the start of the year amid rising waiting lists, workforce issues, industrial action, and other pressures.
The survey asked 2,507 people to rate their confidence in timely access to 13 NHS services, including A&E, ambulances, non-urgent operations and procedures, GPs, pharmacists, mental health services and dentists.
Summary of the findings
The survey suggests low public confidence in accessing GP services and preventative care, such as mental health service and non-urgent procedures, while a relatively high confidence in more urgent care, such as A&E and 999 services.
Highlights
- Out of hours GP services scored the lowest public confidence, with half of people, 50%, lacking confidence in getting timely care from this service,
- This is closely followed by non-urgent operations and procedures, 46%;
- Mental health support, 44%;
- GP services during the day, 42%;
- Dental care, 39%.
- Nearly a third of people were not confident in being able to access A&E, 31%, or an ambulance or paramedic, 30%.
Across those services, an average of 32% of respondents said they were not confident or very confident that the 13 NHS services could provide timely care.
Around a third, 31%, of the respondents said they are totally or very confident they could access timely care from those services.
Access to timely care is not equal
The research suggests perceptions of access to NHS care is a health inequality issue, with some of the most vulnerable groups having the lowest confidence that they will get the care they need in a timely way.
People aged 65 and over have the lowest confidence in accessing all the 13 NHS services. Across the 13 services, only 24% of people in this group felt confident accessing health services.
This is followed by people who said they struggle financially – an average of 26% of people who are not financially comfortable are confident they can access those services.
By contrast, 35% of financially comfortable people said they were totally or very confident about accessing the 13 NHS services.
