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Britain, the sick man of Europe: Heart and cancer survival rates among worst in developed world
British health care is little better than that of former Communist countries, which spend a fraction of the billions poured into the NHS.
A survey published yesterday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development sees Britain languishing with the Czech Republic and Poland in international league tables on health.
The OECD - which represents developed Western countries, some former Soviet nations, Mexico, Japan and South Korea - compared healthcare standards among its 30 members and found that we lag even further behind the wealthiest nations, such as France, Sweden and Germany.
The figures showed:
- British cancer and heart attack victims are more likely to die than almost anywhere in the developed world;
- Asthma and diabetes patients are more than three times as likely to end up in hospital as their neighbours in Germany;
- Life expectancy in Britain - 79 years and six months for a man - is far worse than in France, where men expect to live until 81. The deficit is similar for women.
Britain performed only marginally better than former Communist states whose governments spend only half as much on healthcare.
Last night critics seized on the league table as an indictment of Labour's failure to improve the Health Service over 12 years - despite tripling NHS spending to more than £100billion a year.
But ministers insisted the figures were out of date and that significant improvements have occurred since.
Among the OECD's most worrying findings were Britain's five-year survival rates for cancer between 2002 and 2007.
A shortage of cancer specialists and the lack of access to life-saving drugs is thought to be behind our poor showing.
On the positive side, the survey shows British healthcare is much more equitable than most other countries.
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Just 9 per cent of low income homes say they have unmet care needs, compared to 52 per cent in the U.S. and 24 per cent in Germany.
Britain also has more nurses than many countries. There are ten nurses for every 1,000 people here. That's higher than the OECD average of 9.6 and the French figure of 7.7.
But the picture of cancer survival in this country remains bleak. The survey found that in Britain, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer had a 78.5 per cent likelihood of being alive five years later.
But in France, the figure was 82.6 per cent, in Sweden 86.1 per cent and in the U.S., 90.5 per cent.
The situation is even worse for those with bowel cancer. In these cases, Britain was the second worst country of the 30 member states.
Much of the blame for Britain's poor showing is attributed to the fact that patients and GPs fail to spot cancer signs early enough.
A lack of access to life-saving cancer drugs, a shortage of specialists, and a lack of MRI scanners are also factors.
The report found that in Britain there are 8.2 scanners per million people: much lower than the OECD average of 11.
There are also far fewer doctors in Britain: 2.5 per 1,000 population, compared to 3.4 in France.
The survey also found that British heart attack patients were more likely to die in hospital than others in the Western world.
In 2007, 6.3 per cent had died within 30 days of admission - compared to 4.9 per cent across the OECD, and 2.9 per cent in Denmark. Britain also performed poorly on keeping asthma and diabetes sufferers out of hospital - reflecting badly on the quality of GPs.
In Britain, 75 out of 100,000 people ended up in hospital with asthma in 2007.
In France the figure was 43 and in Germany, just 21.
The report found that Britain spends more than the average OECD nation on healthcare: just short of $3,000 (£1,850) per head of population.
This compares to $1,626 (£1,000) in the Czech Republic, where cancer survival rates are almost as good. However, the OECD acknowledged that healthcare had improved over the past decade.
Last night Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the data showed 'the enormous progress' that had been made.
Comments 126
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Well done all of my fellow citizens who voted Labour. I accept that Tony Blair is an accomplished liar but even so... Just because a Tory administration, despite 18 years in power had created a stable, growing economy, you felt comfortable enough, able in fact to vote for a man the Devil would be embarrased to know (not the Pope though, eh). Well haven't you had a lesson! Our 'government' over the last 12+ years has been a joke, a comedy that should have been on the television. Blair came up with a situation comedy more extreme and ridiculous than Ricky Gervais ever conceived. A Chancellor whose believe that he had ended boom and bust was based on his discovery of the company credit card. Ladies and gentlemen you have been taken for fools. If you want to see Brown with a serious face, take away his pension. And Blair? Let's talk life ending prison sentences. Not for revenge, for justice. And don't let the country down again. Don't vote Labour.
This is an interesting piece. There is an unspoken current in all of these recent reports about Britain's lack of specialists, Britain's declining economic power, and those who would deny it should open their eyes to it. Britain needs MORE immigration, not less. Let me tell you why: 1) there is a lack of skilled labour in many vital parts of the economy, of which healthcare is one 2) the population is ageing and it's a ticking timebomb 3) the most basic and accepted economic growth models show that the long-term growth of a country is controlled by its stock of labour, capital, technological innovation. What no politicians are brave enough to tell people upfront is that BRITAIN NEEDS IMMIGRATION to retain healthcare and economic prosperity. The consequences of walling off this country are dire. Anyone who tells you otherwise is irresponsible. I urge you to wiki economic growth models, pensions crisis, and nhs staffing deficits. It's only surface-skimming, but it will open your eyes.
sandy, outer space - thank God!, 8 years ago
I thought it was an accepted fact that the British government is deliberately encouraging the health services to let these people die, to save money
lisa, essex, 8 years ago
Why doesnt Gordon Brown stop giving away our money to other countries and instead use OUR money to actually help the BRITISH PEOPLE OF BRITAIN!!
Mr Rolf Kitching, Gosport Hampshire, 8 years ago
18 months is not a far worse life expectancy than another country it is less than 2% difference. I wonder how much this data is skewed by health tourists who are treated in this country usually when treatment is not available in there own country.In medicine raw statistics are useless .A hospital treating advanced cases of lung cancer will have a higher mortality rate than a hospital treating early stage skin cancer . Both cancer hospitals yet the lung hospital because of the higher death rate would be considered worse or even dangerous if just one criteria is used.
Dave, Essex, 8 years ago
It´s not surprising when there are more managers and administration staff in the NHS than there are doctors and nurses,little wonder that there is not enough money for better drugs and patient care.
rachel, oxon, 8 years ago
These are the results for the fashionable well funded diseases. Spare a thought for what it's like in this country for the people suffering the unfashionable diseases. Most of the money in our NHS does not filter down to the patient. Like cream the money's skimmed off at the top by our unaccountable leaders and there's tens of thousands of them filling up bits of paper.
Denis Taylor, Manchester UK . Europe, 8 years ago
It is unfortunate that statisics are fluid and can be manipulated anyway one wishes. The way in which the various aspects of Government funded bodies are examined very much depends on the 'media' and how the 'climate' of the population is refelected. The over-riding 'Fact', of all this is that of Bankers gambling away 'societies' entrusted money then gaining rewards of magnitude even after the 'event' - Whilst 'riding-ruff' on ordinary folk with an average overdraft. It is endemic of a financial system in decline. The anger of the people is then fueled by way of 'released-documents' showing- Bad Care for the Elderly- Bad care for the terminally sick- Poor Public Services- etc etc...is it the only way of 'venting anger' at the Managers of the Country?- The ones who do not deserve the 'fall-out' from this 'climate' is the workers providing services, don't forget. their personal tax has gone up too, to pay the bill for the irresponsible 'Bank's gamblers. Banks should pay a NHS levy now!
RolloTomasi, Bangkok, Thailand, 8 years ago
The health service maybe an inefficient, filthy and bloated mess, but it does provide jobs for Labour voters!
Professional, NHS, 8 years ago
The Uk has a national database that includes all patients who have had a heart attack. Much time and care is taken to input this data in order to indentify where improvements need to be made. The US does not have a similar system and probably neither do many other countries. Therefore how the data from countries where there is no obligatory reporting of cases can be compared to our I dont know. What I do know is that in the seven years I have been working in coronary care signidicant advances have been made in the treatment of heart attacks. The death rate for inpatients is rapidly decreasing. This is due to treatment via primary angioplasty instead of drug treatment. This has cost alot of money but has a huge postive impact for patients including a shorter hospital stay. The majority of people who are dying from heart disease are those who die before they get to hospital. Tackling risk factors is therfore also key, but whilst patients are given advice they dont always take it.
Liz, Essex, 8 years ago
"Once the government gets involved in anything, costs sykrocket and efficency drops like a rock. People who want government involvment in any organization are nuts." - jo, N.B., Canada, 8/12/2009 23:24 You think costs don't skyrocket with private insurance?
Ivor, Cardiff, Wales, 8 years ago
I had a radical prostatectomy 6 weeks ago after prostate cancer was diagnosed, and cannot speak highly enough of the treatment which I received at the Heath Hospital in Cardiff, and the follow-up after care by the District Nurse system was absolutely brilliant. Starting at my GP level all the way through to the operation and beyond, all I can say is three cheers for the NHS, - in Wales at least! DON'T KNOCK IT , AND BE GRATEFUL !!
Todd, NYC, USA, 8 years ago
Based on how the comments have been rated, it would appear the Brits don't want any criticism of the NHS in spite of its glaring failures. They are either very proud or very embarrassed.
David Prestbury, Macclesfield UK, 8 years ago
Just look at the table 'HEART ATTACK DEATH RATES' Presumably, nobody in the USA dies of heart attacks!
David Prestbury, Macclesfield UK, 8 years ago
David Once A Proud Brummie, When were you a proud Brumie? Was it when Thatcher was decimating our industries? David, I presume you think the NHS will be safe in Tory hands! Despite Dave?s so called love of the NHS. He surrounds himself with friends who recently appeared on US TV declaring ?the NHS has been a 60 year disaster? I worked in the health service (charge nurse) when Thatcher imposed cutbacks year on year on year. She also privatised the cleaning services leading to today?s superbugs.
Sarah, Hull, 8 years ago
A lot of people forget that in a lot of circumstances prevention is better than the cure, so eating a low fat diet, getting exercise and a proper work life balance ill go a long way. Stress management techniques like meditation and doing things you like are good for the soul and body...we live in a ridiculously materialistic age and neglect the special things that make life really worth living, so its no wonder that disease-dis ease raiseses its ugly head. You can red arrow me all you like but we have our priorities so wrong in this day and age, and a lot of our illnesses our our own making. I would also take most things the Drs say with a pinch of salt too as modern meds are so harsh on the body and essentially make money for big pharma
Karla, El Monte, USA, 8 years ago
No one beats America for eating bad food and being unhealthy, yet we have the best ratings on that list because we have not fallen into NHC. We are on the brink of trashing it all because our liberal government wants control over everything.
DaveP, Hull, UK, 8 years ago
As Sir Humphrey puts it, the problem with the NHS are patients. If we could just outsource them to the India or China, hospitals would be clean and efficient.
bridey, oxfordshire, 8 years ago
Don't blame the NHS its because as a nation we eat rubbish food we don't exercise enough and we drink too much. You only have to look at us. Compared to most Europeans the vast majority of English look unhealthy.
sandy, outer space - thank God!, 8 years ago
Unfortunately, in modern times there will NEVER be enough money with the changes since then :- An increasing, aging population. Advances in expensive drugs and treatments Unnecessary procedures eg IVF, sex changes etc "Tourist" patients. Advances in expensive mechanical aids - mike, Wantage, 9/12/2009 18:30 Add the following: An increasing number of people dependent on the state coupled with a reducing number working and paying taxes to support them This government's insistence of inviting the unemployable from the third world to take advantage of that reducing pot of money A massive increase in layers of non-productive managers in the NHS An increase in litigation because the health sector is employing some staff with questionable qualifications from abroad
mike, Wantage, 8 years ago
When the NHS was set up after the last world war it was a brilliant concept. Unfortunately, in modern times there will NEVER be enough money with the changes since then :- An increasing, aging population. Advances in expensive drugs and treatments Unnecessary procedures eg IVF, sex changes etc "Tourist" patients. Advances in expensive mechanical aids When will Joe Public realise that the NHS will have to be part funded privately, as happens in some Continental systems, if our health service is ever going to be worthy of pride again?
T.B., Nottingham, England, 8 years ago
Stop whingeing about the N.H.S. Some hospitals have lovely paintings to stare at whilst breathing your last!
Graham, Lüdenscheid, Germany, 8 years ago
I have recently returned to Germany after living in the UK for the last 5 years. During that time, I really thought I was in the third world and not a so-called leading developed country. On my first contact with Hospitals such as the Kent & Sussex, T. Wells, I was disgusted at what the patients, doctors and nurses had to put up with, wards that were filthy, overfilled and mixed. As for the GP referral system, well that is like russian roulette, where the true cause of an ailment can go undetected for years. Money being squandered on grossly overpaid back slapping adminstrators who couldn't organise a chimps tea-party. Officials who have a pass the buck mentality as long as the s*** doesn't stick to them but on hearing something positive fight like moths for the limelight. The basics of the NHS are good but it is really being abused and mismanaged.
Rob, Canada, 8 years ago
I see a lot of responses what whine and complain but not one indicating that perhaps the individual has some responsibility. Given all the articles about excessive drinking, smoking, anger and violence does the lifestyle and attitude of the people not have a bearing on the health standards in the UK?
Geoff, Leeds, 8 years ago
A third world Government giving a third world service, full of greed and corruption. This bunch of sticky fingered loonies have to go now, this country cannot afford to carry on running from one catastrophe after another. Stop the illegal wars, cut the benefits, stop immigration, freeze top cats pay , get your noses out of the trough and your heads out of the sand and do something that the average person in the street would do. Cut your cloth idiots, we are a third world country, we are not the big player you would have us believe we might have been in the past but not anymore. We are a laughing stock, lets face it. Since 1997 we have been governed by the most ineffectual bunch ever. I don't have to tell you the names, Blair, Prescott, Brown, Mandelson, Harman, Balls, Blears, ect, ect, ect. The Labour loonies all have a part to play in the downfall of this country.
Tigerail, Lutterworth, 8 years ago
'THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE'. This label fits just about everything we can think of. Our economy, still in recession when everyone else's is not. The Health Service, 'nuff said. Education, a decade of lost opportunity. Immigration. I sick joke. The list goes on. The only way we shall get better is by removing this bankrupt Labour Government, and replacing it with a Government that will seriously address the issues, not play political stunts. Can't wait for next May. I know where my vote is going, and it is certainly not to Labour.
bridey, oxfordshire, 8 years ago
Don't blame the NHS. It's US we eat rubbish ...we don't exercise... and we drink too much.
Nova, South coast, United Kingdom, 8 years ago
I am still very much a believer that the money is being wasted on Executives making decisions on things they aren't really qualified to do! They need to leave, because the higher up you go in most big businesses, the less work you really do, you just endorse things and lose grip on the reality of the day to day running of your respective business. I have been part of that structure and I hated it, money was great but I actually was bored because there wasn't really much satisfaction in it. I I couldn;t abide the waste of money on booze, food and choice of venues for meetings. That is the only way to go, the doctors and nurses know how to run it and a committee of these people to make decision regarding the running of it. It is embrassing to hear foreign people working here, say that they are going home to get treatment.
lemar, London uk, 8 years ago
Too many non jobs in the NHS making everyone pass the buck and no one taking any responsibility. Bring back the old Matron system
Donna C, Cumbria, 8 years ago
Too many chiefs who run the service like a profit making one. They set unrealistic targets and some don't even have NHS experience.
Donna C, Cumbria, 8 years ago
Too many chiefs who run the service like a profit making one. They set unrealistic targets and some don't even have NHS experience.
dave, london, 8 years ago
The British public have been saying for years that our health service is heading towards third world status,now it has happened.Newly qualified British doctors can not finf work and leave to go overseas,whilst Labour import hundreds of foreign doctors into the country.I have not seen an english doctor in the last seven years that I have been to the doctors.Bring back British trained doctors and nurses and service will improve.
lila, devonUk, 8 years ago
Maybe it has nothing to do with the NHS but more to do with people ignoring the advice given by doctors when they are told to change their lifestyles? I have seen people complain about their health problems but not ONE of them change anything. Men don't go to the doctors and I have known women ignore breast lumps until it is too late. Asthmatics who smoke, diabetics who drink alcohol and do not watch their diet, heart disease patients who smoke and have unhealthy diets. Is that the fault of the NHS? No, that is their own fault. Many of those countries do NOT have an NHS service, a private healthcare service cannot be compared to a free healthcare service. The only person who can understand statistics are statistians, and it is well known that statistics can be skewed.
Ginny, Aylesbury, 8 years ago
Stop acting like lady bountiful to all and sundry - lets look after the people that live here now and no more - at least till we are back on our feet! Oh sorry if thats not politically correct - to be honest - I dont give a damn!
Dr Alyn James BDS, Wales, 8 years ago
My experiences: I was told I had had a silent heart-attack and had coronary artery disease. I had 4 angiogram attempts to unsucessfully place a stent and then a bypass. Prior to bypass the anaesthetic team told me my heart disease etc was MISDIAGNOSED or worse. On release I saw my GP re the suggested misdiagnosis and she screamed at me I was an ungrateful patient and she sent me to the psychiatrist. A dreadful medical fiasco, at my expense, ensued until NINE MONTHS later I eventually saw the Cardiology Team for said reasurrance, but STILL no explanation why my GP refused to refer me back to the Cardiology Team. No medical personel seemed to know where that appt had come from as my GP admitted no referral was ever sent. On sight of my Medical Notes it seems a 3rd scenario exists thanks to the "inaccurate" annotations, by some GP's, of the appointments over an 18 month period. If so called colleagues can treat me as they did it makes me despair for the safety of regular patients.
WeAreAngry, co.uk, 8 years ago
These comparisons are the bottom line of this Government's time in office and provide the defining report on the effectiveness of this Labour Government. These figures paint an abject failure of responsibility and are an absolute disgrace. This Government has continually paid lip service to those aspects of Government responsibility that really matter, without ever making any serious difference. It's all froth and cosmetics with Socialism and we all suffer as a result. Spend money wherever and put in targets. The mantra of these disgusting Labour politicians. And they NEVER take responsibility. If we look at how much we spend on the EU every day and then how much we spend on health it soon illuminates the idiocy of belonging to this marxist regime. We must be mad to allow this criminal damage to our country to continue unabated every day! This Government doesn't have the integrity to do the honourable thing and resign. They will need to be forced!
Ross, Bucks, 8 years ago
Is it surprising when the world and his wife have access to our resources who have never paid anything into the system while people who have contributed are not getting the service from the cradle to the grave, a promise made when OUR National Health Service was born
George, Bolton UK, 8 years ago
I write this on the day that I go for a cancer check-up. I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with our doctors and nurses but it is the politicians who interfere all the time. In Bolton, the first thing you are given on entering hospital is a form to put on your race and sexual orientation. Every notice board is full of political slogans. Not so in the private hospitals where the doctors and nurses can concentrate on patient care and not politics. Get the non-players off the green and let the doctors and nurses get on with the job. The story of health care is just the same as the story in schools where political interference has ruined education despite the good teachers. And now this government intends to impose politically-correct sex education on every child from five upwards. I see no hope from the Tories or Libdems.
Roger Darce, London, UK, 8 years ago
I have the impression that there is a lot more "soldiering on" and a lot less "making a fuss" in UK than elsewhere in the developed world. In Italy virtually anyone over 40 ... and anyone who asks... can get sent for a full range of blood tests. It's a bit of a hassle... get up early, no breakfast, stand in line with dozens of others - and you pay unless you are a pensioner. In the US these tests are the norm.People think 'I've paid for them so I'll have them'.
Jacqueline, uk, 8 years ago
This is because vast amounts of the budget are used up on health tourists who come here with complicated issues we treat for free,mass immigration which has significantly swelled the numbers using the NHS beyond all reasonable future calculations and also the fact that we now have a small army of people "commissioning" services which actually means people on very high salaries supposedly shopping around for services ie:cleaning,therapy,surgery etc etc and finally using probably the cheapest service (cheap usually meaning you get what you pay for) and having wasted a vast amount doing the searching which could have been spent on the better more expensive service in the first.Commissioning is a joke I have seen it first hand and its a very unfunny joke.
John, France, 8 years ago
NHS. Safe in our hands. Well the pen pushers are. The bonus stealing, incompetant Nu- Liebor snout in the trough genuflecting stalinistas are. Shame about the 'real' staff. and patients? ........................The figures speak for themselves. Labour at its best and YOU voted for it.
Leo, York, 8 years ago
Isn't it interesting how the negative use of gendered nouns seems to be perfectly acceptable when the negativity refers to men ('Britain the sick man of Europe'), yet ones which tend to be used in a more positive context about the male species (e.g. spokesman) elicit mieowing and hissing from the Harperson mob on the grounds that they promote negative stereotypes.
Dotty, England, 8 years ago
We do however have to take this report in context. We do have a large immigrant population, many of whom have had little or no healthcare prior to coming here and therefore, have a multitude of complex problems to solve. Maybe, if these people were excluded from the figures, they would improve significantly,
John, France, 8 years ago
Quelle surprise. Labour policy. Dump as many incompetant chiefs into the public sector as you can. The service offered and the people who actually deliver are totaly irrelevent.
Melanie, Bremen, Germany, 8 years ago
Um, shouldn't the headline be "Germany, the sick man of Europe" since it doesn't show in any of the cancer survival rates?
Kenneth, Suffolk, England, 8 years ago
The report, and the graphs shout volumes about the state of health care in UK. So, despite a doubling of the NHS budget, according to ministers, Britons do not get value for money, poorer survival rates for cancer because of late diagnosis and a shorter life expectancy. What has gone wrong in the NHS?
Karla, El Monte, USA, 8 years ago
Swell, and our idiot president and the Dems all want this for us. This should be required reading for all of us here in the US. All we are told here is how wonderful health care in the UK and Canada is, Some of us bother to do our own reading and we know the truth.
scott, Dubai, 8 years ago
the health problems in UK are the product of poor diet, not a poor healthcare system. Just take a look at all the obese people walking down the high street - you dont see the same high proprtion of fat people in countries like Poland or France - dont blame the health service !
A tax-payer, England as was, not EU, 8 years ago
It was always Labours intention to make Britain a third world country. Mainly in financial and health areas.
F., Qatar, 8 years ago
Typical Labour mess. The whole thing needs shutting down and starting again. Issue UK citizens with a card and treat only cardholders. Levy a modest, reclaimable charge to visit the Doctor (the richer simply won't bother but it will stop Doctors surgeries becoming social clubs for the elderly and single mothers. Stop treating non-medical conditions. Most importantly, stop treating foreigners - if you don't look English and can't speak English like a native, chances are you ain't entitled!! Send ONE decent Manager to Australia to see how they provide a better service for a fraction of the cost.
Russ, Valencia Spain, 8 years ago
Yet another Brown/Bliar nulab triumph, what was the slogan in 1997? "two weeks to save the NHS", 11 years to bankrupt the country would have been more accurate, and the NHS? the story above says it all......
Russ, Valencia Spain, 8 years ago
Yet another Brown/Bliar nulab triumph, what was the slogan in 1997? "two weeks to save the NHS", 11 years to bankrupt the country would have been more accurate, and the NHS? the story above says it all......
paul, southampton, 8 years ago
What would one expect when most of Labour's frivolous spending has gone on admin staff and bureaucracy . Like everything they do, a complete waste and frittering of taxpayers money. They must be removed as soon as possible
David Thomas, North Wales, 8 years ago
This New Labour government pretends, when it suits its agenda, to take note of research and science. For example when they want to justify making abortion easier, climate change etc. they insist on the research. Well I hope they read THIS research and weep.
Kate Evans, Nottingham, England, 8 years ago
What's evident is that everywhere with no NHS has better outcomes than the UK, not just in heart and cancer treatment,diabetes and asthma management but also in mental health, maternity and geriatric care. Citizens of other countries have better access to primary care,no waiting times and lists, no poorly-run, dirty hospitals, The NHS has long been not the envy of the world but a laughing-stock; the money poured in has all been wasted, because it hasn't improved patient care.but gone into the back pockets of over-paid doctors - GPs on £114K for dumping many responsibiites and working a 35-hour week, consultants on well over £100K who spend half their time on private practice to double or triple their incomes., medics who get out into management for underserved salaries of £200K.
Roger, Cape Town S.Africa, 8 years ago
" Last night Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the data showed 'the enormous progress' that had been made " Is he reading the same article as us ? Over here I get a PSA and Cholesterol check every year at my request and it only takes 24hrs to get the blood tests done and the results back........and the good news is the doctor actually phones You, not the other way around. Unless you have lived outside the UK, I don't think you can appreciate how really 3rd class the NHS has become.
hagar, blackpool uk, 8 years ago
What do you expect when we have an organisation like NICE stopping life saving treatment because of the cost involved. Amazing how we have untold money to give desk bound civil servants huge bonuses though.
Russian Girl, Moscow, 8 years ago
I thought American health care was the worse but looking at those charts it seems like American health care system is the best after all.
broccoli, Bournemouth UK, 8 years ago
Why am I not surprised at these findings. Money wasted on needless 'management'(sic) ...
George, Toronto, ON, Canada, 8 years ago
** COUGH ** Where were these statistics compiled? On Mars ?!?! Example ...... "Life expectancy in Britain - 79 years and six months for a man - is far worse than in France, where men expect to live until 81. The deficit is similar for women." 79 years for a man in Britain would be phenonmenal !!! It'd actually be one of the highest in the universe !!!! But guess what !!!!! It's INCORRECT !!!!!! It's much lower, and so is France's !!!! So, what's going on? And how come the US's survival rates for those hi-lighted diseases are soooooo much higher than everybody else, .... when their life expectancy for both men and women are WAAAAAAAY much lower than most industrialized countries overall, including CUBA !!!!! Sorry, can't/won't buy your stats. Please try again to make your point.
Petra Gajdosikova, London, 8 years ago
Spending 100 bil GBP a year is pointless when a significant portion of it is wasted on 'managers', administrators and other useless bureaucrats, while patients are left to die in appalling conditions. The NHS budget should be trimmed down (but of course the Tories won't do that either) and the money directed to actual patient care instead of on ever growing numbers of managers. The NHS is the 5th largest employer in the world... for as small a country as the UK, that says it all. For 100+ billion a year we get 3rd-world-standard hospitals and some of the worst survival rates for cancer and heart disease. And yet no party will even touch on the subject of NHS reform.
L. Higgs, Doha - Qatar, 8 years ago
The standard of care is declining swiftly. Hospitals are grubby, dark, disease ridden places which you would not choose to go into unless absolutely desperate. If we suffer from long term chronic illnesses we are unlikely to ever see a specialist and our own G.P.'s are often as not too concerned over government paperwork and their super size saleries to even look at you to see what sex you are. For this we pay billions of pounds yearly in National Insurance. So to all those NHS staff out there who think they are doing us a favour remember we are all paying money every month into a system which is supposed to cover our treatment. Where that money goes is anyone's guess.
john roebuck, west haven ct U.S.A., 8 years ago
If this is "enormous progress", God help us if the N>H>S> budget had really been "wasted"
tom bowden, perth australia, 8 years ago
The NHS senior management and directors should be given million pound pay increases and everyone else, other than nurses and assistants, should get ten thousand pound bonuses. We are all mad here Alice.
Fred, London, 8 years ago
Labour run Britain / what else!
james hyde, yeovil UK, 8 years ago
Yes, well that maybe true but we process more forms than any other country. We have more managers than any other country. The managers are far more incompetant than any other country. Isn't that something to be proud of?
Deborah, Cambridgeshire, 8 years ago
I don't know about the rest of you but this really scares me. We need to demand changes in the NHS now, for all of our sakes.
John O'Donnell, Cumming, USA, 8 years ago
and the idiots in the U.S. still want a government run health service.
michael, brentwood, essex, 8 years ago
So British health care is little better than that of former Communist countries, despite the fact that we are spending billions and these other countries are spending very little. Am I surprised at this? No way! It is what I expect from this government. They have had 12 years in power and and seem to have accomplished very little indeed. The one area where they have excelled is building DEBT. The UK is hocked to it's eyeballs and may collapse undr the weight of this debt. The NHS is clearly failing when the FACTS are that heart and cancer survival rates ARE amongst the worst in the developed world. The UK has not achieved the AVERAGE survival rates in these areas - a sorry condemnation of a wasted 12 years in power.
machman1209, cardiff, wales, 8 years ago
Well done Labour! At last we've found something they're good at............. killing their electorate.
mick blair, thailand, 8 years ago
Britain is not nor was it ever the sick man of Europe, as far as health is concerned anyway. The problem is British people ( a large majority ) are bigger than they have ever been and they do nothing about it. If people would look at pictures of people in the 1940's, they would see people with a different shaped head to those seen today. Heads today are round, just look at any man who has gone bald prematurely or shaved his half hairy head to pretend he isn't going bald. Round Heads. And round bodies. So the cure is diet and excercise, more veg, less fat, not so much booze and not so much sitting on yer bum. There, that'll be 3 shillings and eleven pence halfpenny please, as I will have saved the healthservice mil
Lee, Banstead, Surrey., 8 years ago
Not really a suprise. The English are the last priority for this Labour Government. Hopefully the BNP will be able to restore some balance to the Country.
Sharon, United Kingdom, 8 years ago
Then add the number of people who die in hospital from neglect, wrong diagnosis, hospital infections and that good old chesnut "pneumonia" I think I would prefer to end my days being knocked over by a bus.
Reuben Camara, Plot 1, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR, 8 years ago
The NHS has been deliberately changed from a Health Service to a money-spinning merry-go-round of bloated parasite consultants, managers, assistant managers, deputy assistant managers and acting under deputy assistant managers - draining countless BILLIONS OF POUNDS from the NHS annual budget. Time to sack the lot and bring back the stern Matron in hospitals - there was no nonsense and no obscene expenses when Matron showed her face.
James, Sydney, 8 years ago
Yet another in a huge list of failures for Labour.
Danielle Trujillo, Los Angeles, California, 8 years ago
"On the positive side, the survey shows British healthcare is much more equitable than most other countries. " ARE YOU KIDDING ME? British subjects may die faster, but at least they die faster... equally. Unfortunately, Obama (and Democrats in Congress) also see this as a "positive" and would rather supplant the U.S.'s Number One Cancer Survival Rates with their prime directive: forced equality. Bravo.
Wayne Morris, Port Talbot, Great Britain, 8 years ago
This will change only if people vote Labour out. If they vote for that lot again they will be voting for more of the same.
george, hull, 8 years ago
It looks like the Tories will have only 24 hours to save the NHS. All that money spent and for what?
A. Didlede, London UK, 8 years ago
If it wasn't so tragic you would have to laugh! Labour are so incompetent it defies description.
John, St Ives, cambs., 8 years ago
Hmmm, funnily enough the last time the UK had the 'sick man of Europe' title was also under a Labour Government !!!
LH, Kettering Northants, 8 years ago
Don't forget labours spin. we only have 24Hours to save the NHS
Jack Graham, Bingley UK, 8 years ago
Well done New Labour, another tick in your record book.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob, hackney, 8 years ago
When you strip out the 1 in 10 foreign born people in Britain what do the figures look like then?
dennis, birmingham, 8 years ago
The NHS has become a complete shambles with multimillions of pounds being wasted on failed IT systems, excessive paperwork, excessive layers of overpaid management, and excessive training on issues which do not have direct relevance to the daily workload.That is why I have taken early retirement, the bosses live in a completely artificial world about to collapse.
Annie, Expat, JAX, Florida., 8 years ago
Life expectancy is only partly driven by how a country's health care system performs.This report also noted that many factors beyond the quality of a country's health system, such as income inequality and individual lifestyles and attitudes affect outcomes.
End LibLabCON, UK not eu, 8 years ago
more propoganda to privatise the NHS , under EU Law ALL public services are to be privatised. LibLabCON have not told you that though have they? So, when you see an article slagging off the postal service or police, NHS ect , you know why ! Maybe the NHS would be better run if we stopped wasting taxpayers money - thats yours;
Janet W, Henley-on-Thames, 8 years ago
The hospitals are so dirty here! I tell my friends back in the US --- "come visit Britain, but don't get sick here". At least they treated my brother for colon cancer back in the US, even though he had no health insurance. And he survived.
Matt, London, 8 years ago
Is it possible that all the seriously ill people in the world come to the UK to be treated on the NHS (as highlighted in an article a few weeks ago). If they do not survive then it surely will effect the UK stats??
Kate, Anytown, USA, 8 years ago
I'm sure you have the wonderful National Health System to thank. As for nationalized health care here in the states, I'll pass.
Ron, Oxon, 8 years ago
With a 'free' health service, people have no incentive to take care of their health.
Kimberly, WA State USA, 8 years ago
Sadly, Obama and the liberals in the US want desperately to copy the "success" of the NHS by implementing a public option in the "healthcare" bill. There may be problems with access to care and difficulty in affording it, for some but when it comes to quality, the USA is still among the best in the world. I mean no disrespect to the UK system; I know most Brits love it, but we don't want it in the US. Our country's are very different and just wouldn't work here. The cost for one would be overwhelming and would one way or another end up covering illegal aliens. In truth, only about 7-8% of the population needs some type of cover. Overhauling the entire established system is a recipe for disaster. There are other solutions. But the liberals aren't listening.
Tony, Buckingham, 8 years ago
The NHS is at the heart of Labour policies they tell us over and over when the truth is... "British health care is little better than that of former Communist countries" Well as Brown and the other Communists have been implementing Communist policies for 12 years that is not a surprise really And yet we still have the odd billion for overseas aid and no doubt a few million to hand out at the Copenhagen green scam jolly The 30% that are voting Labour must be the healthy 30% on benefits as the rest of us mere mortals want rid as soon as possible
Bill, Stevenage, 8 years ago
The only improvement in the NHS is the managers wages. After seeing a hospital in Norway, I do not want to go into a British hospital.
Graham Wharton, St. Albans uk, 8 years ago
When Labour came to power, people didn't mind paying more tax, as long as it meant an improved service but they just threw money at the service. They have created targets for the NHS to meet but it doesn't really mean anything. Most people are seen within 4 hours of getting to casualty but if you're treated on a trolley in a hospital corridor, is that treatment?? We give people that run hospitals and other managers fanastic salaries in the NHS, while patients can be left for hours having to lie in their own urine or faeces. When nurses do the right thing and whistle blow, the hospitals turn on them and do their best to remove them. The NHS is having to refund somewhere approaching one billion pounds per year to other EU heath services for treatment that UK nationals were given in the EU. In contrast we claimed back less than 40 million pounds! It says it all really doesn't it? The NHS is avoided like the plague! Time to slash the salaries of GPs, consultants and execs!
James, London, UK, 8 years ago
This does not surprise me. My wife went through the NHS for tests and treatment for an abnormal cells result. They wanted to wait another 6 months as the test results were inconclusive. Having been not satisfied with this, I used my medical insurance to get a second opinion. They discovered the HPV virus (a likely cause) and have carried a successful LEEP procedure to remove the abnormal cells. My wife did not get any of this from the NHS and their attitude is "don't worry, cervical cancer is slow to develop so we'll wait another 6 months". As far as I'm concerned, the NHS are super slow and unaccountable and I will make sure my family never use them for serious medical matters if possible. Also, Gordon Brown is an idiot who frittered our money away on a service that has not improved.
wilfred knight, orange usa, 8 years ago
....you get what you pay for.. How much can a cancer Doctor (Haematologist-Oncologist ) make over there ? Is it worth his while getting all the extra training required ? Then there is the English stoicism , that ignore symptoms till too late.
ivan, southampton, 8 years ago
Maybee they dont seek help soon enough. Everyone has to die sooner or later. why live in our shattered society when you have a get out of jail free card?
Arthur Gruntfuttock, Moscow, 8 years ago
I clearly remember Tony Blair in 1997 saying ' vote for us today and tomorrow we save the NHS; tomorrow never comes does it Tony, but you're OK aren't you with all your ill gotten gains, going private are you, you political scumbag!!
Joseph, Singapore, 8 years ago
How's THAT for your NHS, Britain? The truth hurts.
Hugh, Dincaster, 8 years ago
Does anybody know which London hospital this "surgeon" is working in??
sam, Toronto, Canada, 8 years ago
by the time Obamacare is up and going, America will be joining Britain at the bottom of these survey's, just imagine a federal government control of healthcare in country of over 300 million people, costs, inefficiencies, will skyrocket. I hope American's defeat Obamacare, you don't won't federal bureaucrats making all your healthcare decisions, ( I know) because even though they are telling American that's not the case, everyone in Washington knows that will be the case, that's why is like pulling teeth to get it passed with a 80 person democrat majority in the house, a 10 person democrat majority in the Senate, majorities for one party not seen in 60 years.
paul, Colchester Essex, 8 years ago
My 73 year old mother has been diagnosed with cancer. I personally cannot fault the care attention time and effort all the medical staff involved have given. I have found she has recieved fast prompt attention and soon found herself under a professor who spent well over a hour discussing her illness. My mother still battles her illness but has had so many scans and test i have honestly lost count. I CANNOT FAULT THE NHS i am sure there is room for improvement but my mother only has praise for all the people involved in her care and hopeful recovery.