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New polling shows the public mood has shifted on the NHS. The government must respond, writes Dr Emmanuel Igwe<\/p>\n
We are all accustomed to the tremors which herald every healthcare crisis in Britain: winter bed shortages, rising waiting lists, the salacious details of yet another scandal. And the political class responds with the common antiphon: \u201cmore time, more staff, more money!\u201d All the NHS needs, we are told, is the right spending in the right places and further recruitment of doctors and nurses from abroad; then the congregation is told to sit down and trust in the benevolence of the NHS.<\/p>\n
Yet, as new<\/a> polling from the Prosperity Institute reveals, the faith Brits have in the NHS is on shaky ground. Although people are still devoted to the creed of \u201cfree at the point of use\u201d, they do not think the clergy deserve any money in the offering basket. In fact, nearly half of respondents view healthcare as one of the three most important issues facing Britain today; with the economy (66 per cent) and immigration (50 per cent) being the other two \u2013 the Holy Trinity of today\u2019s British political discourse.<\/p>\n The findings are glaring: from a pool of 5,000 respondents, the 22 per cent who believe that immigration does not pose a strain on the NHS are dwarfed by the 49 per cent \u2013 more than double \u2013 who consider immigration as a net burden on the NHS. 59 per cent believe that the government should prioritise NHS reform over further spending and 65 per cent of respondents \u2013 including 65 per cent of current Labour voters \u2013 believe that British doctors should take precedence over foreign doctors.\u00a0<\/p>\n What these statistics reveal is that the public is frustrated by the status quo, and is demanding change. For many years, the response to challenges in the NHS has been to throw more money at the problem with the hope that that more funding would somehow fix the issues. At 11 per cent<\/a> of GDP, public spending on the NHS has increased by 50 per cent since 2012, reaching<\/a> \u00a3187bn currently. Yet waiting lists stay at close to record<\/a> highs and more people are spending<\/a> out-of-pocket for private healthcare<\/a> (\u00a346bn in 2024). It is evident that the current NHS model is untenable; a view held by 45 per cent of respondents.<\/p>\n \t\tNHS model \u2018untenable\u2019, say almost half of Brits<\/p>\n What this shows is that the old tropes of \u201cthe left want to spend, while the right want to cut\u201d does not reflect the ground on which the public is standing. Instead, people see profligate spending, mismanagement and expanding bureaucracy as the major problem. For instance, when asked what they considered to be the major cause of maternity scandals, only a quarter of respondents suggested that they were caused due to funding issues, as opposed to nearly 50 per cent who blame mismanagement issues instead. People are no longer asking how much the NHS needs to function, they are asking: \u201cWhat are you doing with the money you receive?\u201d<\/p>\n The shift in public perception is illustrated by the intersection of public attitudes to immigration and the NHS, which may prove awkward reading for the political class. The sentiment that immigration is a net burden on the NHS now has broad political consensus amongst Conservative, Reform, Plaid Cymru and SNP respondents \u2013 with only Labour and Green respondents largely believing it is a net positive. The common retort that \u201cthe NHS would fall apart without foreign workers\u201d is losing its lustre, as over two-thirds of respondents think the NHS should prioritise British doctors over foreign ones (including 65 per cent of Labour respondents and even 42 per cent of the Greens). People also seem to prefer the care provided by British doctors and nurses as 42 per cent say the quality of service is better than what is provided by foreign-trained doctors and nurses. This is not a convenient data point for a political class that always seeks to suggest that any link between high immigration and stretched services is a racist fantasy.<\/p>\n It would be absurd to dismiss this as simply prejudicial. The proportion of NHS staff born abroad has doubled since 2010 (from 11 per cent<\/a>\u00a0 to 21 per cent<\/a> in 2025), indicating the NHS\u2019s reliance on foreign workers is a policy choice. Conversely, funding<\/a> for training places for home-grown talent has not been sufficient to address the needs of modern NHS service delivery. Juxtapose this with publicised scandals showing sham care visas<\/a>, non-existent employers<\/a> and fraudulent qualifications<\/a>, it is little surprise that the public sees \u201cimport more staff\u201d as a losing policy agenda for NHS reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n