Nearly half of Brits agree the NHS is in the midst of a “humanitarian crisis”, the description which has been applied to it by the Red Cross.
Last week Theresa May ridiculed the claim by the international agency – but 47 per cent of people polled for the Sunday Mirror believe it is true.
And 53 per cent would be prepared to pay more tax if the cash raised was earmarked for the health service. More than half of those questioned in our ComRes poll say they think that NHS patient care is now worse than it was 10 years ago.
Yet, despite that, more than seven in 10 think patients still get a high standard of care – up 13 points from when the question was last asked in 2013.
Nevertheless, nearly six in 10 reckon the NHS is more focused on meeting Government targets than in ensuring good care. Seven in 10 say they have not experienced any unacceptably poor standards over the last two years while 28 per cent say they have.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt does not get a good diagnosis from voters, with 53 per cent saying he is doing a lousy job – up 16 points from 2013.
Yet 43 per cent believe PM Mrs May would do a better job of sorting out the winter crisis than Jeremy Corbyn . Only 26 per cent reckon the Labour leader could do better.
However Mr Corbyn did get the thumbs-up for his suggestion that top pay for bosses should be capped at 20 times those of their workers. A total of 57 per cent backed the idea.
More than four in 10 have struggled with getting GP appointments in the last 12 months. There has been a six-point rise, to 30 per cent, in the number of people who think those who can afford it should pay for their treatment.
But the 53 per cent majority still believe that the NHS should stick to its founding principles and remain free for all.
ComRes interviewed 2,038 GB adults online between 11th and 13th January.
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