Satisfaction in public services was also examined in this survey. Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction in public services on a scale of 0-10. The mean score for each satisfaction level indicator was calculated by adding individual scores and dividing the total by the number of individuals using weights for each individual (see Background Notes for more details). In line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) recommended groupings, responses were grouped as Not satisfied (0-4), Neutral (5) or Satisfied (6-10).
In both the 2021 and 2023 Trust survey, the highest levels of satisfaction were seen in the education system with seven in ten respondents reporting they were satisfied.
The health system saw the lowest levels of satisfaction with 26% of respondents reporting they were satisfied, decreasing from 32% of respondents in the 2021 Trust Survey.
There was also a drop in the levels of satisfaction with the quality of administrative services when compared to the 2021 Trust survey, with 63% of respondents reporting they were satisfied in 2021 and 51% in 2023.
More than six in ten (64.6%) female respondents reported they were not satisfied with the healthcare system compared to 57.2% of male respondents. Respondents living in rural areas also reported lower levels of satisfaction in the healthcare system compared to those living in towns and cities. Less than one in four (23.1%) respondents living in rural areas reported they were satisfied with the healthcare system compared to approximately one third of respondents living in towns and cities.
Higher levels of satisfaction in the education system were found in those who had higher levels of education in line with 2021 Trust survey findings.
As seen in the 2021 Trust Survey results, satisfaction levels with the quality of the education system, the health system and administrative services were higher in respondents who voted for a party currently in government compared to respondents who had voted for a party not currently in government in the last general election.
More than six in ten respondents who had (or someone in their household had) made use of the healthcare system in the past 12 months were not satisfied with the healthcare system compared to around five in ten respondents who had not made use of the healthcare system in the past 12 months.
Respondents who had direct experience with administrative services in the last 12 months were asked to rank how satisfied they were with different aspects of the services they received. Over 65% of respondents reported they were satisfied with each of the different aspects (see Table 4.6).
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