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Project

The public and the NHS

The relationship between the NHS and the public is complex. Although surveys show us that the public is proud of the NHS, and that most people are satisfied with the services they receive, it’s sometimes said that public expectations of the NHS are rising.

So what are those expectations? And what should be expected of the public in return? Moreover, as the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday and pressures on the NHS continue to grow, does the relationship between the NHS and the public need to change?

Project content

  • Report
    • Dan Wellings
    • Patients and the public

    What does the public think about the NHS?

    As part of our project on the changing relationship between the NHS and the public, the Fund commissioned some initial polling from Ipsos MORI. The results are in.

    • 16 September 2017
    • 15-minute read
  • Long read
    • Julia Cream et al
    • Patients and the public

    How have public attitudes to the NHS changed over the past three decades?

    What can data from 34 years of the British Social Attitudes survey tell us about the public's relationship with the NHS and how it is viewed alongside other publicly funded services? We ...

    • 1 February 2018
  • Long read
    • Harry Evans
    • Policy, finance and performance

    Does the public see tax rises as the answer to NHS funding pressures?

    We have analysed the latest data from the British Social Attitudes survey on public attitudes to NHS funding and the quality of care provided by the NHS.

    • 12 April 2018
    • 14-minute read
  • Report
    • Rachel Burkitt et al
    • Patients and the public

    The public and the NHS: what's the deal?

    In March 2018 The King’s Fund and Ipsos MORI carried out a series of discussion events with the public to explore people's views on the relationship between the public and the NHS. This ...

    • 25 June 2018
  • Blog
    • Andy Knox
    • Determinants of health

    How can community involvement reduce health inequalities?

    Can community involvement in Morecambe Bay help reduce health inequalities that have existed over decades?

    • 5 September 2018
    • 4-minute read
  • Blog
    • Ceinwen Giles
    • Patients and the public

    How can the NHS work effectively with patients and the public?

    In a guest blog for our NHS and the public project, Ceinwen Giles asks what patient involvement could mean for the NHS.

    • 4 April 2018
    • 3-minute read
  • Blog
    • Laura Fulcher
    • Patients and the public

    Let’s be frank about the NHS

    In a guest blog for our NHS and the public project, Laura Fulcher asks whether it’s time for NHS leaders to acknowledge that the public must be involved in improving the NHS.

    • 15 March 2018
    • 6-minute read
  • Blog
    • Bobby Duffy
    • Patients and the public

    Public expectations of the NHS

    In a guest blog for our NHS and the public project, Bobby Duffy, Managing Director of Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute, explores public expectations of the NHS and other public servi...

    • 12 February 2018
    • 5-minute read
  • Blog
    • Michelle Dixon
    • Patients and the public

    Engaging the public in designing the future for the NHS

    In a guest blog for our NHS and the public project, Michelle Dixon, Director of Communications, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, reflects on how important public engagement will be...

    • 29 January 2018
    • 7-minute read
  • Blog
    • Keith Willett
    • Patients and the public

    A conversation with the public: could different be better?

    As part of our series on the NHS and the public, Professor Keith Willett considers the changing nature of care. 

    • 6 December 2017
    • 5-minute read
  • Blog
    • Mathew Thomson
    • Patients and the public

    The NHS and the public: a historical perspective

    This is the second in our series of guest blogs about the changing relationship between the NHS and the public. Here, Mathew Thomson, Professor of History at Warwick University, looks at...

    • 18 October 2017
    • 7-minute read
  • Blog
    • Aneira Thomas
    • Health and care services

    Growing up with the NHS: born on 5 July 1948

    As part of our work on the changing relationship between the NHS and the public, Aneira Thomas, who was the first baby born on the NHS, shares her views on its past and its future.

    • 16 September 2017
    • 5-minute read

How we work with NatCen on the British Social Attitudes Survey

The British Social Attitudes Survey has been carried out annually since 1983. The survey is conducted by NatCen, and is one of the largest and most authoritative surveys of its type. Since 2011, when government funding for the survey was reduced, funding has been provided by a variety of charitable and government sources.

The King’s Fund has provided funding for and reported on the questions on public satisfaction with the NHS since 2011. In 2017, the Nuffield Trust also contributed funding for these questions and we worked in partnership to report the findings. Since 2011, The King’s Fund has also funded a small number of other questions on health and care, which change periodically, and address current policy issues such as NHS funding and how to address the pressures facing services.

All questions on the survey undergo robust testing with members of the public, conducted as part of NatCen’s survey design process, to ensure that questions are understood by the public and capture their opinions.

Project team