The NHS has come under increasing pressure over recent years due to higher demand for services and funding and personnel shortages — issues further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chronic underinvestment in the U.K.'s National Health Service means Britons are likely to die sooner from serious diseases than patients in other rich nations, according to a new study.
The U.K. "performs poorly" compared to OECD nations on combatting conditions such as cancer and heart disease, resulting in higher-than-average rates for both preventable and treatable mortality, the report published Monday by the King's Fund health think tank found.
Among the 19 countries studied, the U.K. was found to lag behind most of its peers on life expectancy, although the report notes that this is an issue significantly affected by factors beyond the direct control of any health system.
Britain's "below average" healthcare outcomes are due to "below average" investment in physical resources, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners and hospital beds, low levels of clinical staff and being "heavily reliant" on foreign-trained staff, researchers found.
Persons:
NHS —
Organizations:
NHS, National Health Service, OECD, King's
Locations:
Austria, Belgium, Germany