Friday 16 October 2015

Embattled NHS can learn from other health systems around the world

Embattled NHS can learn from other health systems around the world The health service is the jewel in our crown, but there are things other countries could teach us, both on outcomes and on costs.

Today, only 40% of all countries globally provide their citizens with universal healthcare. The NHS offered inspiration to many countries when it established universal healthcare in 1948. Indeed, a national poll conducted at the Olympic Games in 2012 ranked the NHS as the institution that made people “most proud to be British”, beating even the Royal Family. I have never seen such a symbiotic relationship between a country’s health system and its national identity. It runs very deep and every politician knows it.

However, our continental neighbours can boast better health outcomes in some cases, such as cancer. Survival rates in England are around 10% lower than the EU average, particularly for colon, ovarian and lung tumours. We are catching up in some areas, including breast and stomach cancer but too many people are still being diagnosed too late.

A single, or dominant, funder offers our best hope for improved population health, patient care and taxpayer Continue reading... The Guardian

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