Three quarters of public concerned about pressures on GP practices

More than three quarters of the public are ‘concerned’ about the level of pressure that GP practices are facing, new polling from the Health Foundation has found.

Public satisfaction with the NHS was also ‘at a record low’ when people were surveyed before the general election, according to the think-tank.

The poll, carried out in May by Ipsos, showed that only 28% of the public think the NHS is ‘providing a good service nationally’ – six percentage points less than last year, and the lowest since the think-tank started asking this question in 2021.

The research, which included 2,136 people aged over 16, highlighted strong concerns about general practice, with 78% of respondents concerned about the pressure on GP practices, up from 73% in 2022.

The Health Foundation said that despite the current policy focus on the elective backlog, improving access to general practice is ‘a higher priority for the public’.

Their survey report said: ‘This is the first time that general practice has appeared in the public’s top three priorities for the NHS in our polling series, though it is not possible to draw direct comparisons with previous surveys due to changes in the wording of the options presented to respondents.

‘Around 1 in 3 (34%) cite making it easier to get an appointment at GP practices as a top priority, compared with 1 in 4 (25%) who prioritise improving waiting times for A&E and improving waiting times for routine hospital services.’

Of those who are concerned about pressures in general practice, a lack of staff (48%), a lack of funding (43%) and people using the service inappropriately (39%) are seen as the main causes of pressures on general practice.

And, when asked who is responsible for addressing these pressures, more than half (55%) think it is the responsibility of government.

The poll also found that:

More than half (52%) think the NHS ‘will get worse over the next year’, in particular regarding pressure or workload on NHS staff (65%) and waiting times for routine services (62%).
The public’s top priority for the NHS is reducing the number of staff leaving by improving working conditions (39%).
This was closely followed by making it easier to get appointments at GP practices (34%) and increasing the number of staff in the NHS by increasing recruitment (32%)

BMA council chair Professor Philip Banfield said that the data showed the public understands the ‘urgent need’ to fix the ‘front door to the NHS’.

He said: ‘The first few weeks of this Government have seen early signs of progress, with a pay offer for junior doctors soon to be put to our members in England, and above-inflation pay uplifts awarded to other groups of doctors through this year’s pay review process.

‘These are important first steps and this Government knows it needs to continue to reverse historical real-terms pay cuts experienced by all doctors.

‘Huge issues remain, not least the need to properly fund and support general practice with the additional resources to reflect the extra work and costs they are bearing.

‘The failure to do so means GPs continuing to hang up their stethoscopes, leaving and practices closing – which is why GP contractors in England have overwhelmingly voted to take collective action.

‘The public understands this urgent need to fix the “front door to the NHS” – as this survey shows.’

Rory Deighton, director of the acute network at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘With the public showing they are concerned about waiting times we urge the government and BMA’s GP Committee to continue to work together to find solutions to avert the GP’s collective action in the interest of patients as well as halting any side effects this can cause to waiting lists and the public’s experience.’

Health Foundation assistant director of policy Tim Gardner said: ‘Public satisfaction with the NHS was at a record low prior to the election and the new government will have its work cut out to turn that around.

‘The public want to see steps taken to retain NHS staff, improve GP access and recruit more people to work in the health service.

‘The new government has made a promising start in reaching an agreement with union leaders to settle industrial action by junior doctors and NHS staff will welcome the decision to accept the NHS Pay Review Body recommendations.

‘However, the challenges facing the NHS are considerable. There are no quick fixes, but the NHS can recover with the right mix of policy change, innovation and investment.’

Earlier this year the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) found that large numbers of the public are willing to pay higher taxes to fund the NHS, as satisfaction with GP services fell to a record low of 34%.

Yesterday, new data from the GMC showed that GPs continue to be the least likely to be satisfied with their job and the most likely to be struggling with their workload among all doctor groups.

And last week, the BMA announced the results of its non-statutory ballot, which saw 98.3% of GP partners voting in favour of taking collective action from 1 August, in protest against contractual terms and funding.