What Cornwall Thinks about… NHS Reforms
On the 13th March 2025, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be abolished and brought under “democratic control” in an attempt to cut bureaucracy and duplication[1]. The organisation, which oversees the country’s health service, will be brought into the Department of Health, and the PM said the move would free up money for frontline services.
With this in mind, PFA Research asked 130 Cornish residents for their thoughts on NHS reforms, between 19th March – 1st April.
Half of us think Cornish healthcare is “fair to poor”
Half of those responding (50%) rate the quality of healthcare services in Cornwall as either “Fair” or “Poor” compared with 42% who rate it as “Good” or “Excellent”. The remainder say it is “too varied to say”.
Perhaps this is unsurprising given that just over half (53%) have experienced delays in receiving medical treatment or consultations in Cornwall in the past year, either for themselves or a family member. Of these delays, the most common are:
– Delays in hospital treatment – 37% (of those who have experienced a delay)
– Delays in GP appointments – 32%
– Delays in diagnostic tests and treatments – 15%
We had heard about the reforms…
85% are aware of the government’s plans, but half (50%) are unsure whether this would, in fact, achieve the stated goals of reducing bureaucracy and redirecting funds to frontline services. Of those with a view, more are inclined to think the plan will succeed (30%) than will not (20%).
And most believe they will reduce waiting times…
Whilst just over a quarter (27%) of our Cornish residents thought the Government’s reform proposals would result in no significant change, and one in eight (13%) were unsure as to what the impact might be, over half (55%) believe the changes will result in shorter waiting times.
As to the government’s proposal to utilise private sector resources to reduce NHS waiting lists, a third (32%) are unsure. Of those with a view, two thirds (64%) agree with it versus a third who disagree.
This is despite support for the founding principle of the NHS (of being free at the point of use, publicly funded, and available to all) still being alive, with 58% of respondents willing to countenance higher taxes if that is what it took to uphold this. Other potential options, such as introducing charges for certain lifestyle-related conditions (e.g., smoking-related illnesses), or means testing (so that higher earners contribute more to their own care) did have some supporters, but were more controversial and less popular.
Which is good news, because reducing patient waiting times is our top priority
Asked about priorities for the funds saved from reducing NHS bureaucracy, those Cornish residents responding to the What Cornwall Thinks survey say it is reducing patient waiting times, with 59% putting this as either their first or second priority. The next most important goals for those in Cornwall are increasing the number of healthcare professionals and upgrading or increasing the number of GP surgeries.
We actually think less ‘bed blocking’ will be a more likely benefit than cost savings
Most (86%) respondents think that less ‘bed-blocking’ (faster appropriate discharge for patients) is a realistic, achievable goal if health and social care services were better integrated. We also think such integration would see cost savings (65% agree), improved support for those with long-term health conditions (58%) and better communications between services and patients (and their families) (53%).
However, we are less convinced that improved integration would create easier access to services through a single point of contact (46%), reduce hospital admissions (45%), enable more focus of preventative care (45%) or result in more personalised care tailored to individual needs (42%).
However, a significant proportion are worried about these reforms
Whilst just over half (54%) say they have no concerns about the potential negative impacts of these reforms on healthcare services in Cornwall, that means that nearly half (46%) of these Cornish residents do have concerns. A lot of these concerns are not specific, falling between ‘healthy scepticism’ to ‘general pessimism’. However, several expressed concerns as to whether costs savings would in fact be achieved, about the impacts of the reforms on NHS staff, and about urban-centric decisions negatively impacting rural healthcare.
[1] What does NHS England do? And why is it being abolished? – BBC News