Seven in 10 Brits confident in the NHS’ ability to deal with pandemic

A new online survey by Ipsos MORI looks at trends in perceptions around Coronavirus among a nationally representative sample of Britons aged 18-75.

Confidence in the NHS

• Confidence in the NHS continues to fall, now almost three-quarters of Britons aged 18-75 (72%) are confident in the abilities of the NHS to deal with those who are ill as a result of Coronavirus, down from 76% in September and 81% in June
• Older Britons are more confident than their youngers, almost 8 in 10 (78%) of those aged 55-75 have faith in the NHS, falling to 66% of 18-34s.
• Those who voted for the Conservative Party in the last General Election are more confident than those who voted Labour (81% vs. 67%).
• However, one in four (24%) now say they are not confident in the ability of the NHS to handle Coronavirus – the highest level since March.
• Meanwhile, the % that are ‘very confident’ has fallen to 21% from a peak of 37% in May.

Ipsos MORI Research Director Keiran Pedley said: “Britons continue to have overwhelming faith in the ability of the NHS to handle the Coronavirus outbreak, even if confidence is softening a little as we head deeper into winter. Whilst Britons are somewhat divided over the clarity of communication coming from government, those that think measures being taken to combat the virus are ‘too strict’ remain very much in the minority. The nation’s health remains the priority, with 3 in 4 Britons saying that either health should be prioritised over the economy or that both should be prioritised equally’.