As a doctor, I know the NHS needs more than belief – it needs investment

2 April 2025, 15:30

Is it really newsworthy anymore to report that people are pissed off with the NHS?

According to the British Social Attitudes survey, which has been running for over 40 years, people are really pissed off and public satisfaction with our health service has reached an all time low.

Nearly 3000 people from England, Wales and Scotland were asked their views last autumn and only 21% said they were satisfied with the way the NHS runs. 59% of people said they were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ dissatisfied with the NHS – which represents the highest level of dissatisfaction with the health service since polls began in 1983.

As a GP, seeing patients who are languishing on the waiting lists of millions, I hear this frustration on a daily basis.

In our amazon prime society of 2025, where we can get sushi delivered at midnight and botox in our lunchbreak, It’s easy to forget that the NHS was born from the ashes of the second world war, and was just one part of welfare state reforms of post-war reconstruction.

The arrival of the NHS coincided with improvements to social security, the creation of retirement pensions and family support allowances, new industrial injury schemes  and the raising of the school leaving age to 15. Out of all of these reforms, the NHS has long been revered as the “jewel in the crown” and even today, it’s often said that the NHS is the closest thing we have to a national religion.

The poll results showed some truth to these statements, and despite low levels of satisfaction with the service provided by the NHS, the support for the founding principles remain strong, with 90% of respondents stating it should “definitely or probably” be free at the point of use, 77% agreeing it should be available to everyone, and 80% saying it should be funded from general taxation.

We hold these principles dear, but we can’t have a sparkling jewel in our crown if the tiara we are wearing comes from Poundland. We know that general practice in particular, has the largest volume of NHS activity every day, but has been chronically underfunded.

The lack of investment in primary care has been highlighted as one of the most significant policy failures of the last 30 years. There is hope that this is being recognised by the current government – lets see if next years poll reflects some improvement.

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Dr Ellen Welch is a GP in Cumbria, vice-chair of the Doctors’ Association UK and author of “Why Can’t I see My GP.”

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