ALMOST two-thirds of the British public want to see care services brought into public hands, a new survey found today. 

In a poll commissioned by public-ownership group We Own It, 64 per cent of respondents said they wanted to see care homes run by public bodies compared with 21 per cent who wanted them to remain in the hands of private companies. 

And over two-thirds — 61 per cent — said they believed that private-care providers prioritised profit over delivering a high-quality service. 

Social-care providers have come under fire following devastating outbreaks in care homes, with more than 200,000 Covid-related deaths recorded.

We Own It campaigns officer Pascale Robinson said today: “Our social-care system is clearly broken. For far too long it has been infected with the ideology of privatisation and outsourcing, and built around the principle of private profit rather than public care and wellbeing. 

“This poll shows that the public are crying out for change.”

Privateers have been sucking up care homes over the past two decades. The vast majority in England are now provided by private companies, compared with 1993 when 95 per cent were provided by local councils. 

The poll, conducted by Survation, surveyed 2,003 adults living across Britain. 

It coincides with the launch of a new campaign by Keep Our NHS Public and the Socialist Health Association, calling for a National Care Service — a publicly funded care system. 

Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Keep Our NHS Public’s co-chair Dr Tony O’Sullivan said: “It’s time to make a stand with fellow campaign organisations and unions calling for a National Care Service to ensure more unnecessary suffering is stopped.”