paulfromcamden
Baffled
"The UK has spent about 20 per cent less per person on health each year than similar European countries over the past decade, according to new research that shows how the NHS has been consistently starved of funding." [FT if you can see it]
https://t.co/P6RaxbmVYs
Thanks for posting that Gav.
The data from the Health Foundation, which was shared with the Financial Times, found that health spending in the UK would have needed to rise by an average of £40bn per year in the past decade to match per capita health spending across 14 EU countries.
...
The lag between the UK and similar countries in expenditure levels revealed in the Health Foundation data, is matched by a gulf in survival rates for some conditions. In the UK, just 13 per cent of those diagnosed with lung cancer live for at least five years, according to 2014 data, the most recent available. This is the lowest among the countries studied, with Japan at the top on 33 per cent. Meanwhile, 9 per cent of people in the UK who had the most common type of stroke died within 30 days in 2019, compared with 6.2 per cent in Germany. “Either we are going to have lower quality healthcare relative to other countries or we spend more,” said Anita Charlesworth, director of research for the Foundation, who led the work.
I often hear people say that NHS problems aren't just about funding - but spending £40bn(!) a year less than our neighbours certainly isn't going to help.