By james art The survey of 1,053 older Britons, carried out exclusively for the PA news agency, found that 71% thought carers were underpaid, up 8% from April 2023.
Almost a fifth (19%) said they felt they were paid the right amount, while just 3% told the survey that carers were paid too much.
Around 60% of people also said they thought nurses were paid too little, up 3% from last April.
However, more than a quarter (28%) say they are paid the right amount and 5% say they are paid too much.
Last month, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England rejected the government’s 5.5% pay rise by two-thirds, in a record turnout of around 145,000.
The award was announced by the chancellor at the end of July, shortly after Labor won the general election.
Of people polled by Ipsos, around 41% said the nurses were right to reject the offer, while 29% said it was the wrong decision.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “The public is right that nursing staff are underpaid and that is why they rejected the Government’s pay award.
“Our profession is highly skilled and we provide the majority of patient care, but we are not properly assessed.”
In announcing the rejection, the RCN said its vote was not for further strikes, with the union required by law to hold a compulsory postal vote to authorize further strike action.
Nurses staged strikes in December 2022 and in 2023 in a dispute with the government over pay.
The Ipsos poll showed Britons were split on whether they would support nurses if a future walkout were to happen.
Some 38% said they would support striking nurses if the government did not offer them a higher pay rise in the future, while the same percentage said they would oppose strike action.
Professor Ranger added: “Nobody, in my profession or society, wants to see more nursing strikes.
“The Government wants to reform a ‘broken NHS’ but it cannot do this without tackling the nursing crisis. If not, the NHS and social care will continue to be overwhelmed by dangerous staffing levels.
The inquiry comes as the RCN calls on the Government to “fix a broken model of nursing education”.
Analysis of data by the Ucas union found that the number of people studying to become nurses has fallen in every region of England.
Professor Ranger said: “The prospect of huge debt and a lack of financial support is putting off the nurses of the future, threatening to leave patients without the highly skilled nurses they desperately need.
“Nursing is an amazing career, but to fix the broken NHS, the government needs to fix the broken nursing education model.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We know what nurses have been through in recent years and how difficult it is at the moment. That’s why, despite a bleak economic legacy, the chancellor rewarded them with an above-inflation pay rise.
“This Government wants to work with nurses to get the NHS out of the worst crisis in its history, get it back on its feet and make it fit for the future. We will work with NHS staff to change this together.
“We have introduced legislation for the first ever fair pay agreement for older social workers to properly reward hardworking staff and improve recruitment and retention. To achieve this, it is vital that they first consult widely to ensure that the policy is right for workers, providers and people who rely on care and support.’