Worst health care service in England
A report has stated that the Health Service in the UK is one of the worst in the western world for treating strokes, cancer and heart attacks.
People are more likely to die in England that in countries such as the US, New Zealand, Norway and Canada.
The report jointly commissioned by the Health Federation and the Nuffield Trust comes to the conclusion that the UK has an uphill struggle to catch up to other countries. It states that death rates for strokes in England are the second worse and 15% of patients die within a month of leaving hospital compared to figures in Sweden where it is only 11%. It goes on to state that 87% of women in Sweden with breast cancer live at least 5 years compared to 82% in England.
A department of health spokesman stated that unlike other countries we offered free health care on the NHS whether the patient had health insurance or not. This meant that the average NHS spending for a patient in the UK was £1,912 compared to £2,800 for 27 other countries and £4,700 for the US.
We need to consider why the UK is behind other countries and is this something to do with our health care system and should changes be implemented now in order to stop this high number of deaths occurring in our country. What can we learn from how care is provided in other countries?
For more information about this aricle please contact denisesingleton@vslaw.co.uk