Young people less satisfied with the NHS - survey

The annual British Social Attitudes survey reveals a significant generational divide in NHS satisfaction, with only one-in-five people under 35 expressing satisfaction compared to more than a third of those aged 65 and over.

Despite overall satisfaction rising for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare experts caution that these improvements remain "fragile" and substantial work lies ahead.

The findings coincide with Health Secretary Wes Streeting's announcement of an "intensive recovery" programme targeting England's worst-performing NHS trusts, including North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust, Mid and South Essex Trust, Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Trust, and East Kent Hospitals Trust.

The 2025 survey examined responses from 3,400 participants across England, Scotland and Wales, with data collection conducted between August and October 2025.

Key findings:

The research uncovered several critical insights into public perception of NHS services:

• NHS satisfaction increased to 26% of respondents reporting they were very or quite satisfied, up from a record low of 21% in 2024
• Wales recorded below-average satisfaction rates, with only 18% of respondents expressing satisfaction
• Social care satisfaction remained significantly lower, with just 14% of people reporting they were very or quite satisfied
• Future outlook appears pessimistic, with only 16% of respondents expecting NHS care standards to improve over the next five years, while 53% anticipate deterioration
• Overall dissatisfaction decreased from 59% in 2024 to 51% in 2025, marking a notable improvement

Bea Taylor from the Nuffield Trust think-tank highlighted the uneven distribution of these improvements: "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."

She emphasized the importance of addressing younger demographics: "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."

Health Secretary Streeting acknowledged the progress while maintaining realistic expectations about future challenges: "The NHS was on the road to recovery, but there was a lot of road ahead."

He attributed the improvements to strategic investments and modernisation efforts: "The biggest drop in dissatisfaction since 1998 doesn't happen by accident. It is thanks to the government's investment and modernisation - all of which has been hard fought but is now delivering results."

Streeting highlighted specific performance improvements, noting that waiting lists have reached their lowest levels in three years, A&E response times for four-hour targets have improved significantly over four years, and ambulance response times are the fastest recorded in five years.

The comprehensive survey was conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, providing authoritative insights into public attitudes toward healthcare services across Britain.