Three in four patients are satisfied with GP services - a higher satisfaction rate than for the NHS as a whole - a King’s Fund report has revealed.
Satisfaction with GP services increased by one percentage point to 74% compared with last year’s British Social Care survey, but fell short of the 2010’s peak of 77%.
Overall, public satisfaction with the NHS climbed to 61% in 2012, a slight recovery from 2011’s record fall where satisfaction plunged 12% to 58%.
This reflects the 1,103 respondants to the annual who were ‘quite’or ‘very’ satisfied ‘with the way the National Health Service runs nowadays’.
A&E services have seen a significant recovery - reaching 59% - but perceptions of inpatient and outpatient services are static - 52% and 64% respectively - and only 30% of respondants were satisfied with social care service.
The 2011 drop was attributed to the sustained, media coverage of NHS reforms and the first in a four year NHS spending squeeze.
John Appleby, chief economist at the Kings Fund said the relatively modest recovery ‘suggests the record fall in 2011 was not a blip and the ground lost may take some time to recover.’
