Healthcare delivery
results prove that there just isn’t public appetite for such a drastic change. Strong support for the principles that the NHS should be funded through taxation and free at the point of use has endured. However, we found a close association between belief that immigration is bad for the economy and doubting whether the NHS should be “available to everyone”. “The boost in satisfaction with the NHS has
not been felt equally across age groups. A stark generational divide remains, with older people still most likely to be optimistic about the health service. The government and NHS leaders should pay particular attention to figuring out what could improve younger people’s perceptions of the service given this is now a longstanding trend.” Responding to the report, the DHSC said that
“despite the significant improvement overall, some ‘challenged’ Trusts have continued to struggle - often because of a range of persistent and historic issues that have never been properly addressed.” Therefore, it will implement a new NHS
intensive recovery programme which has identified those Trusts that are at the bottom of NHS league tables, facing the longest waits for care, with persistent financial problems and those with a high leadership churn. Speaking at the University of East London on 25 March 2026, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, announced how he will drive the changes needed to get these Trusts up to standard again for the benefit of all patients.
He commented: “The NHS is on the road to
recovery, but there’s a lot of road ahead. My foot is pressing down on the accelerator, and I won’t stop until the job is done.” The NHS intensive recovery programme has identified providers where structural challenges exist. Each organisation will receive a tailored improvement approach, designed jointly with local leadership and focused on delivery. This will include:
l Changes of leadership, where necessary, at struggling Trusts.
l NHS veterans with a history of success brought into underperforming areas.
l Merging or separating Trusts so resources can be reallocated based on need.
l Improving access to capital for crumbling estates.
Wes Streeting added: “Right now, a cluster of high-performing Trusts are masking some chronic underperformance in other parts of the country. Failure has been tolerated for too long. Staff know it. Patients feel it and I won’t stand for it. We won’t have succeeded in changing the NHS until we change it for the patients who are suffering the worst services in the country.” Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients
Association, also commented: “Findings from the 2025 British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey present a complex picture. A six-point rise in overall satisfaction, the first increase since 2019, and a fall in dissatisfaction are encouraging. “But behind that headline, the experience of being a patient has not significantly changed. Access remains a defining issue for patients. Difficulties getting a GP appointment, long waits in A&E, and ongoing problems with NHS dentistry continue to shape how people experience care. Too many patients still feel stuck: unable to get timely support or left waiting in uncertainty. Behind these statistics are real people trying to access care they need. And for those who rely on social care the picture is even starker; satisfaction stands at just 14% with no sign of improvement. “Concerningly, analysis of the 2025 British
Social Attitudes survey by The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust also finds that confidence in the future of NHS care has fallen to its lowest level, with fewer than one in six people
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I May 2026
believing standards will improve over the next five years. This lack of optimism really matters. The government’s 10-Year Health Plan places a strong emphasis on patient power and partnership, but that ambition will be difficult to realise if patients do not feel confident that the system will meet their needs. Trust is built through experience and the quality of care patients report has barely shifted from 51% to 50% in a year. “Reforms must be felt by patients, not just seen in headline figures. That means faster access, addressing health inequalities, reducing waits, urgent action on social care, and working in genuine partnership to design care that meets their needs. Reforms will mean nothing unless patients can feel it in the care and treatment they receive, built around what matters to them.”
SCAN ME
CSJ
To download the full report, scan the QR code:
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/ insight-and-analysis/reports/public- satisfaction-nhs-social-care-2025-bsa
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