Health Professionals and Patients Back Tories in Poll

LONDON, April 10, 2010 - A survey carried out by market research company Opinion Health has found
that GPs, Nurses and other health professionals are overwhelmingly backing
the Conservative Party on key issues in healthcare, but over 26% of those
polled are still un-decided about who they will vote for at the next
election.

The poll of 500 front line health professionals and 1,100 chronically ill
patients from across the UK also found that David Cameron was the politician
they believed understood most about the future issues of healthcare in the
UK.

Commenting on the survey, Andrew Wigmore - Chief Executive of Opinion
Health said; "It is clear that front line staff in the NHS as well as
patients are well and truly backing David Cameron and shows they support him
more than Gordon Brown and the Labour Party to make the tough decisions over
the next few years. Notably, when asked to rate how each political party
would manage the NHS, 35% of health professionals said the Conservative Party
would be good or excellent, whilst 30% and 23% said the same for Labour and
the Lib-Dems, respectively. This was echoed by patients, with 37% sharing the
same sentiments, regarding the ability for the Tories to manage the NHS.
Voting intentions amongst health professionals compared to the last election
also show a huge decline in Labour support, while the Conservative and
Liberal vote have remained roughly the same. The most intriguing statistic is
that while they believe in the Conservatives ability to manage the NHS
properly, 26% of health professional are still undecided as to who they will
vote for.

Summary of voting intentions

    Health Professionals

    2010 Election = CON 31%; LAB 18%; LIB DEM 14%; OTHER 11%; Don't Know =
    26%

    2005 Election = CON 30%; LAB 35%; LIB DEM 16%; OTHER 10%; Did not vote =
    9%

    Patients

    2010 Election = CON 28%; LAB 23%; LIB DEM 12%; OTHER 14%; Will Not Vote
    7%; Don't Know 16% 

    2005 Election = CON 24%; LAB 32%; LIB DEM 14%; OTHER 15%; Did Not Vote
    15%

Summary of key findings include;

When asked who was prepared to make the tough decisions after the next
election and who, in an ideal world, you would pick to be next British Prime
Minister. [top 9]

    Health Professionals
    - David Cameron = 31%
    - Gordon Brown = 13%
    - Vince Cable = 8%
    - Ann Widdecombe - 6%
    - Nick Clegg = 6%
    - William Hague = 6%
    - Boris Johnson = 4%
    - David Milliband = 4%
    - Jack Straw = 2%
    - Other = 20%

    Patients
    - David Cameron = 24%
    - Gordon Brown = 15%
    - Vince Cable = 6%
    - Ann Widdecombe = 6%
    - Nick Clegg = 7%
    - William Hague = 6%
    - Boris Johnson = 5%
    - David Milliband = 2%
    - Jack Straw = 2%
    - Other = 26%

When asked if the NHS has an obsession with national targets at the
expense of local services.

    - 85% of Health Professionals agreed
    - 79% of Patients agreed

When asked to rate which political party would manage the NHS best.

    Health Professionals
    - CON = 35% thought good or excellent
    - LAB = 30% thought good or excellent
    - LIB-DEM = 24% thought good or excellent

    Patients
    - CON = 37% thought good or excellent
    - LAB = 35% thought good or excellent
    - LIB-DEM = 32% thought good or excellent

When asked which of the following politicians understood the issues of
healthcare in the UK best.

    Health professionals
    - David Cameron [Con] = 38% - well or very well
    - Gordon Brown [Lab] = 33% - well or very well
    - Nick Clegg [Lib-Dem] = 21% - well or very well

    Patients
    - David Cameron [Con] = 35% - well or very well
    - Gordon Brown [Lab] = 37% - well or very well
    - Nick Clegg [Lib-Dem] = 27% - well or very well

When asked - To what extent do you believe post code prescribing still
exists

    - 85% of health professionals believe that post code prescribing still
      exists to a high, significant or some degree
    - 82% of Patients believe that post code prescribing still exists to
      a high, significant or some degree

Opinion Health interviewed a sample of 1,600 adults aged 18+ across the
United Kingdom. The breakdown = 1100 chronically ill patients, 500 health
professionals [250 GP's, 150 Nurses and 50 pharmacists]. Interviews were
conducted online between 26 March and 05 April 2010.

Notes: Opinion Health is a full service market research company - for a
full copy of the survey please contact Paul@opinionhealth.co.uk or visit the
website www.opinionhealth.co.uk

Other questions asked include opinion on the 3 main parties proposed NHS
policy and opinion on NHS initiatives

Contact: Andy Wigmore, Email: andy@gunpowdermedia.co.uk,
+44-(0)7958-913-771

Andy Wigmore, Email: andy at gunpowdermedia.co.uk, +44-(0)7958-913-771