Almost half of British voters think NHS damaged by pandemic: Poll

LONDON — Almost half of British voters believe the NHS has been damaged by the pandemic, according to a new poll which lays bare the scale of the task faced by the U.K. health secretary and new chief executive of NHS England. 

Forty-six percent of respondents to an exclusive survey for POLITICO by Redfield and Wilton Strategies said the NHS had been hurt by coronavirus, compared with 26 percent who thought it had been strengthened. However, 64 percent of people said their trust in the NHS had increased over the last 18 months, while just eight percent said they trusted the NHS less.

NHS hospitals, mental health services and community providers reported a shortage of nearly 84,000 full-time staff in February, and there are currently five million patients waiting to start routine treatment or operations in England. 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who took up the post in June after the resignation of his predecessor, Matt Hancock, recently warned the backlog could swell to 13 million patients — a mammoth task for his own department and incoming NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard to tackle.

The survey also underscores the sensitive political challenge for the new health secretary and NHS chief, given voters’ concern and affection for the health service.

“Despite the significant disruption caused by coronavirus with hospitals caring for more than the 400,000 seriously ill patients, the NHS also continued providing vital non-COVID services alongside successfully rolling out the biggest and fastest vaccination program in health history, protecting millions of people against the virus and saving 60,000 lives,” said Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director.

“There is of course a challenge ahead as we fully recover routine services but again thanks to the incredible efforts of staff, NHS services including cancer and mental health are back at pre pandemic levels and elective surgery is increasing too – with activity climbing to more than 90 percent.”

One immediate task will be to set the NHS budget for the second half of this financial year after a short-term budget was agreed because of the COVID crisis. NHS membership organizations warned “urgent clarity” was needed on funding for the rest of the year.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, a body which represents organizations that provide services for the NHS, said: “Sadly, it doesn’t come as a surprise that so many people believe the NHS has been damaged by the pandemic, as it tackles a huge treatment backlog and increasingly complex cases, all while staff are overstretched and exhausted.”

He added: “With a new NHS chief executive now in post, we also need urgent clarity on funding for health service for the second half of the year and for the longer term. This must be coupled with significant investment in recruitment and retention to address chronic workforce shortages.”

Deputy chief executive of NHS Providers Saffron Cordery said: “We need a fully funded workforce plan to tackle the worryingly high levels of vacancies and ensure a sustainable supply of staff. We cannot achieve these priorities without sufficient funding for the NHS.”

A department of health and social care spokesperson said: “We are committed to making sure the NHS has everything it needs to continue providing excellent care to the public, as we tackle the backlogs that have built up. We’re on track to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the end of this parliament, with more medical students in training than at any point in NHS history.”

“We gave the NHS a historic settlement in 2018, which will see its budget rise to £33.9 billion by 2023/24, and we have provided an extra £92 billion to support health and care services throughout the pandemic,” the spokesperson added.

In the same survey, fifty-seven percent of respondents said they trust scientists advising the government more than they trust ministers, while just 1 percent said they trusted the politicians more.

This article is part of POLITICO’s premium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email [email protected] for a complimentary trial.