Public satisfaction with the NHS has increased for the first time since 2019, offering what ministers describe as early signs of recovery after years of declining confidence. According to the latest British Social Attitudes survey, overall satisfaction rose from a record low of 21% in 2024 to 26% in 2025, an increase of five percentage points.
This marks the first improvement since before the Covid-19 pandemic, reversing a prolonged downward trend that had seen confidence in the health service reach historic lows. Dissatisfaction also fell by eight percentage points to 51%, although it remains significantly high by historical standards.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is expected to present the figures as evidence that recent reforms and investment are beginning to deliver results. He has described the NHS as being “on the road to recovery”, following Labour’s return to government in 2024. However, analysts caution that the improvement represents only a modest shift rather than a full turnaround.
Persistent frustration over access and waiting times
Despite the uptick in overall satisfaction, public frustration with access to care remains deeply entrenched. Survey findings show that long waiting times continue to dominate patient concerns across multiple services. Around 66% of respondents reported dissatisfaction with A&E waiting times, 63% with hospital treatment delays, and 58% with access to GP appointments.
Only a small proportion of patients expressed satisfaction with these aspects of care, highlighting a disconnect between broader perceptions of the NHS and day-to-day experiences of accessing services. Further evidence underscores the scale of the challenge. Separate polling in early 2026 found that nearly half of Britons had delayed or avoided contacting their GP due to difficulties securing appointments, raising concerns about unmet need and worsening health outcomes. Experts from organisations including the King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust have described the current picture as one of “fragile progress”, with waiting times continuing to weigh heavily on public sentiment.
Government points to reform and modernisation
Ministers argue that recent improvements reflect the impact of policy changes aimed at stabilising and modernising the NHS. Streeting has highlighted reductions in hospital backlogs, improved ambulance response times, and a higher proportion of patients being seen within four hours in A&E as evidence of progress. The government has also linked rising satisfaction to increased investment and a renewed focus on productivity, including the expansion of digital tools and data-driven management across the health service.
In parallel, a new “intensive recovery programme” targeting underperforming trusts is being rolled out, with measures including leadership changes and closer oversight intended to improve performance in struggling areas. These initiatives form part of a broader strategy to address systemic inefficiencies while accelerating the adoption of digital technologies to support patient access and operational performance.
Digital experience and expectations reshape public perception
The findings also have important implications for the NHS’s digital transformation agenda. As patients increasingly interact with services through digital platforms, such as online booking systems and the NHS App, expectations around access, speed and transparency have risen. Delays that might previously have been accepted are now more visible, and often more frustrating, in a digitally enabled environment.
Younger patients, in particular, report lower satisfaction levels, reflecting higher expectations for seamless, technology-enabled access to care. This shift places additional pressure on NHS organisations to ensure that digital tools not only improve efficiency but also enhance the patient experience. Poor access or inconsistent performance risks undermining trust, even as overall satisfaction begins to recover. At the same time, strong public support for the NHS’s founding principles remains intact, with the vast majority of respondents continuing to back a universal, tax-funded healthcare system.
A cautious recovery with challenges ahead
While the latest data offers some encouragement for policymakers, it also highlights the scale of the task ahead. Only 16% of respondents believe the NHS will improve over the next five years, suggesting that optimism about the future remains limited.
For health and technology leaders, the message is clear: incremental gains in satisfaction must be matched by tangible improvements in access and experience. Digital innovation, workforce reform and targeted intervention in underperforming areas will all be critical to sustaining momentum. The rise in public satisfaction may mark a turning point, but with waiting times still a dominant concern, it is a recovery that remains fragile, uneven and far from complete.
