Two thirds of Scots believe standards in the NHS have fallen as the health service faces one of its toughest ever winters.
The figure came out as the leaders of a doctors’ union warned a staffing and funding crisis is putting the NHS in a “perilous situation”.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is under pressure after the pandemic created a massive backlog in non-covid procedures.
Waits at accident and emergency departments also reached record levels recently and staff vacancies are fuelling the crisis.
According to the Scottish Social Attitudes survey, the problems are having an effect with the public.
On perceptions of whether standards had risen or fallen, 66 per cent said the fallen a “little” or a “lot.
Nearly a quarter said “stayed the same” while 7 per cent said “increased” to some degree.
But a majority, 55 per cent, said they were either “very” or “quite” satisfied with the NHS, compared to just over a quarter of people who were dissatisfied.
Yousaf said at the weekend it could take at least five years for the NHS to recover.
Dr Iain Kennedy, chairman of BMA Scotland, said that "frankly we cannot wait five years" for things to improve.
He told BBC Good Morning Scotland programme: "The NHS in Scotland is in a perilous situation and we have a particular crisis around the workforce - we simply do not have enough doctors in general practice and in hospitals.
"We need more urgent action because the pressures and the workload have really shot up."
Dr Kennedy added: "In A&E, for example, I was hearing from a colleague yesterday about ambulances waiting in queues of 10 with five-hour waits.
"Doctors are terrified about the winter and the year ahead."
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