Ipsos survey questioned 10,000 people to represent the country and found many report being harmed by delays accessing NHS care
A shock NHS survey has found one in 10 Brits claim they were harmed by the health service in the last three years. A third of these reported cases of harm were as a result of the NHS backlog which built up during 14 years of Tory rule.
The Ipsos survey questioned 10,000 people between November 2021 and May 2022 from England, Scotland and Wales weighted to represent the sociodemographic profile of Great Britain.
The findings, published in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety, concluded 9.7% of participants reported experiencing NHS-related harm in the previous three years. In 6.2% of cases, the harm was caused by treatment or care received and in 3.5% of cases it was due to lack of access to care. In most cases the reported harm related to hospital care.
Study author Dr Helen Hogan, associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “These findings indicate that healthcare harm affects a considerable number of the general public. Our study shows that there is still some way to go to improve safety across the NHS. When NHS treatment itself or the lack of provision of such treatment results in physical or psychological harm, the impact on health and wellbeing can be long-term.”
Of the 988 who reported physical or emotional harm, 37.6% reported a “moderate impact” and 44.8% said they had suffered “severe impact” as a result.
A spokesman for the UK Government, which has responsibility for the NHS in England, said: “Patient safety is the bedrock of a healthy NHS but these findings are shocking. This government is committed to rooting out poor performance to restore public confidence. When things go wrong in healthcare, the NHS must learn from it and provide compassionate support for those affected, particularly the most disadvantaged or vulnerable.”
Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Patient safety is paramount and we are committed to ensuring all health and care is safe, effective and patient-centred. When things go wrong we expect NHS Boards to fulfil their statutory duty to be open with patients about what happened and to learn lessons to prevent it happening again.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson added: “We want any harm or concerns about care provided by the NHS in Wales to be reported so that it can be investigated thoroughly and openly. We are making the complaint process simpler so that the NHS can respond quickly to feedback, learn when things go wrong, and continuously improve the quality of care provided.”
A spokesman for NHS England said: “The NHS has made significant progress in strengthening patient safety – including a nationwide programme of training and education – and we recognise there is still more to do to improve care for patients by providing better access to services and reducing health inequalities.”