Politics blamed for drop in NHS satisfaction  Might
dissatisfaction with the NHS be purely superficial? Might
dissatisfaction with the NHS be purely superficial?
Satisfaction with the NHS dropped sharply in the coalition's
first year in power, figures out today have confirmed,
triggering intense debate about what the decline actually means.
The King's Fund health thinktank released data from this year's
British Social Attitudes survey showing overall satisfaction
with the NHS dropped from 70% to 58% in just 12 months.  "If
that wasn't enough, what makes this drop even more notable is
that it comes after almost continuous annual improvements in
satisfaction since 2001," King's Fund chief economist John
Appleby commented.  The drop represents the largest fall in any
year since the survey began in 1983, leading shadow health
secretary Andy Burnham to conclude that it "speaks volumes" the
decline happened after the first full year of Tory control of
the health service.  Political factors apart from the actual p