Majority of doctors believe none of the political parties have the right prescription for the NHS

A survey of over 600 GPs and hospital doctors, conducted by Doctors.net.uk found that only a third of doctors believe that any party offers the “best plan for the future of the NHS”. The largest group, 42% selected “none of the above” from a full-list of current UK parties while the Labour and the Conservative parties each drew just over 10% of support.

Support for NHS Party Plans: In your opinion, what party do you think has the best plan for the future of the NHS?

None: 42%
Don’t know: 25%
Labour Party: 10%
Conservative Party: 10%
Green Party 5%
Liberal Democrat Party: 3%
Others: 3%
UKIP: 2%

Neil Reynolds, Director of Research for Doctors.net.uk, said “This research shows that none of the parties has yet established support from doctors based on their plans for the NHS. Given the prominence of the NHS in the run up to the General Election, this should be of significant concern to the UK electorate.”

Furthermore doctors have significant concerns about the medical workforce, Only 4.3% of UK doctors agreed that the GP workforce is sufficient for the current activities for which it is responsible.

Dr James Quekett, a GP and medical adviser to Doctors.net.uk said: “All the parties are making promises about better access to GPs and emergency care services, but comments by many doctors in the Doctors.net.uk forum show a substantial concern that there are simply not enough GPs and many are planning to leave due to their frustration with the unrealistic expectations set by politicians”.

20% of doctors enquired were considering emigrating and practicing overseas and a quarter were planning to decrease their hours in practise.

Perceived role changes, increased bureaucracy, longer working hours, less time with patients make working life harder less time for GPs, according to the survey.

Only 32% GPs were not planning to make any changes to their working patterns. This data confirms a recent BMA survey revealing that one third of family doctors are considering retirement and one fifth of trainee GPs are considering emigrating.

The survey also asked physicians about their views on the plan created by Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England. The “NHS Five Year Forward View” outlines a shared vision of NHS 
England and other NHS bodies, of service change and future models of care. 

Its recommendations focus on prevention and public health, integrated care, breaking down barriers in the system and giving more control to patients over their care plans. Most doctors agree with integrated care models and investing in prevention, but are wary of change for the sake of change. “Doctors when asked about some of the models of care proposed in the Five Year Review were in general quite positive. However, only around 9% had a positive view on the document itself, which reflects a general cynicism about further NHS change rather than the ideas within the document”, concluded Dr James Quekett.

About the research:

The research was conducted as a free-found 15-minute online quantitative interview among members of the Doctors.net.uk professional community of GMC-registered doctors working in the UK. The purpose of the research was to provide a temperature check regarding physicians’ views of the Stevens plan ahead of the election.

More information and contacts

Doctors.net.uk and M3 Europe CEO Dr Tim Ringrose is available for interview and comment on the physician’s views around the election and the Steven’s Five Year Forward Plan revealed in the research. To arrange this please contact Kerri Leach on +44 (0) 1235 828400, +44 (0) 7884 655059 or kerri.leach@eu.m3.com.

Docotors.net.uk also has a selection of infographics from the data available in hi-res pdf or jpeg format – please contact Kerri Leach to obtain a copy for publication.