Record fall in NHS satisfaction
Public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped by a record amount, according to the British Social Attitudes Survey.
Health thinktank
the King's Fund reports that the survey data shows a fall from 70% satisfaction in 2010 to 58% in 2011.
But Health minister Simon Burns insisted those who had experienced care in the NHS were happy with their treatment.
Speaking to BBC News this morning, Mr Burns said: "If you look at the inpatient survey – that is, people who have been treated – which is going to be published later this week, it shows that 92% of people were very satisfied or thought that the service they got being treated was good."
But the chief executive of the NHS Confederation said the survey should be a wake-up call for the Government to do more to explain its controversial reforms to the health service.
Mike Farrar told BBC News: “It’s hard not to conclude that some of the reason that people are worried about the health service is because they probably didn’t understand the reform process.”