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Only 13% of public believe Jeremy Hunt is doing a good job

Less than a fifth of the public believe the Government’s health reforms will improve the NHS and only 13% believe the health secretary is doing a good job, an ITV survey has shown.

The ITV News Index survey, of over 2,000 people and carried out by polling company Comres, showed that 13% thought Jeremy Hunt was doing a ‘good job’, while 41% disagreed and 46% said they did not know.

Only 18% think that the NHS reforms that came into force this week would improve the NHS, 39% disagreed and 43% said they did not know.

Almost eight-out-of-10 said the NHS is more focused on Government targets than patient care.

People were somewhat less dissatisfied with their local NHS services, but still 32% thought also they had got worse and only 7% thought they had got better.

The public survey comes after a Pulse survey revealed a majority of GPs feel no more involved in commissioning decisions than they did before the formation of CCGs.

A Department of Health spokesperson the changes directed by Mr Hunt were ‘already benefiting thousands of people’

She said: ‘Changes to the NHS are already benefiting thousands of people because services are being directed by the healthcare experts who know patients best.

‘Up and down the country we are seeing teams of professionals reducing emergency admissions, treating patients in more convenient places and designing care around the patient far more effectively than was possible before.’