Nursing has topped an independent poll of the country’s most-trusted professions in Britain as the risk of industrial action heightens this week.
Nurses came top out of 30 professions in the annual Ipsos Veracity Index, which has been running since 1983, with politicians in last place.
The release of the poll coincides with an annual day of celebration of nursing support workers, such as Health Care Assistants – a key part of the wider nursing workforce who are set to join strike action next month.
The Ipsos poll asked respondents to say for each one “if you generally trust them to tell the truth, or not?”
The RCN is confirming that more than five days after it asked the UK government to commit to negotiations on NHS pay to avoid strike action, it has not yet happened.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:
“This huge vote of confidence from the public will boost the morale of nursing staff as we head for strikes in December.
“The profession at the bottom of the list should be careful how it speaks to and about the one at the top.
“In large numbers, people are showing their support for our members as we push for safe patient care and a well-respected nursing profession. Nursing staff are patients’ greatest advocates.
“It is regrettable that the UK government has yet to open formal, detailed negotiations. Their inaction is pushing our members closer still to announcing strike dates in a bid to be heard.”
Ends
Notes to editors
The full poll findings are available here
According to the poll, both nurses and doctors have seen a decrease in public trust from previous years. Eighty-nine per cent say they trust nurses to tell the truth, a five percentage-point decrease from 2021, and 85% say they trust doctors, a six percentage-point decrease in trust since 2021.
Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,004 and 1,005 British adults aged 16+. Interviews were conducted by telephone in two waves between 19 and 26 October and 26 October and 1 November 2022.
As with the 2020 and 2021 waves, the index has been carried out by telephone rather than face-to-face, which was the method for waves pre-2020. This should be kept in mind when comparing the results with previous years’ data, especially when differences are close to the margin of error. Data is weighted to match the profile of the population
