Doctors spend more than twice as much time on paperwork than patients... and almost a THIRD do not see a future for NHS More than one in four said they were 'very concerned' about NHS Attending management meetings and doing administration takes up around 17 hours a week - while just seven hours spent on patients 44% believe the standard of patient care will drop in the next five years Doctors spend more than twice as much time on paperwork as they do on home visits, a damning survey has found. Attending management meetings and doing administration takes up around 17 hours a week, compared to seven hours spent at patients' bedsides. And nearly a third are so worried about the present state of the NHS that they believe it will not last. Attending management meetings and doing administration takes up around 17 hours a week About 400 doctors were polled for the survey, having previously expressed a willingness to be questioned about the NHS. More than one in four (28 per cent) said they were 'very concerned' about the health service and could not see a future for the NHS, while 44 per cent believe the standard of patient care will drop in the next five years. 44 per cent believe the standard of patient care will drop in the next five years Some 17 per cent said cuts to the NHS was their number one professional concern, while the same proportion said they had too much paperwork. A quarter said they knew patients delayed seeing them because of appointment waiting times and 55 per cent of these thought this had a negative impact on recovery. Doctors also criticised Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, with 72 per cent saying they questioned his ability in the role and 49 per cent saying he failed to properly understand the needs of the NHS. The survey, from law firm Your Legal Friend, also questioned 1,000 members of the public. Some 35 per cent said they had received poor care from health workers while 71 per cent delayed going to the doctor. Of these, 52 per cent said it was because of trouble getting an appointment, with one in five waiting a week or more. Dr Chris Steele, resident doctor on ITV's This Morning, said: 'These are worrying times for the NHS, as doctors express considerable doubt about whether the system actually works.' He said doctors were feeling hampered by Government reforms. 'Furthermore, patients don't seem to be receiving the basic level of care they deserve,' he said. The last thing any doctor wants is to see their patients suffer unnecessarily and we must address problems in the current system so that patient care is placed front and centre at all time. Sara Stanger, a solicitor at Your Legal Friend, said: 'Patients are generally very trusting of the medical profession and when the trust is broken the consequences can be devastating.'