How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries?
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
The NHS is ‘neither a leader nor a laggard’ when compared to health care systems of similar countries, though on some critical measures of resources and performance the UK is falling well below average, according to a major new report from The Kings Fund.
Their analysis of health care systems in 19 different countries finds that the NHS offers people good protection from the potentially catastrophic costs of ill health and is run relatively efficiently, it underperforms significantly on many key health care outcomes and has fewer clinical staff than most of its international cousins.
The report also considers the future of the NHS model, finding little evidence that any one country’s model of health funding and delivery is inherently better than another. Equally, this is not an excuse to accept the current state of the UK health service.
Working to improve our existing health system while providing it with the resources, political support and long-term planning it desperately needs would give the NHS the best chance of delivering the timely, high-quality care and outcomes it is capable of.