07
Jul 2015
Report suggests NHS lagging behind other health systems
A review into 15 wealthy nations, conducted by the Nuffield Trust, has found that there is a higher death rate from strokes and heart attacks, and lower cancer survival rates, within the NHS, when compared with other nations.
Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, said “Intercepting international data on healthcare systems is notoriously tricky and any comparison should be handled with care.
“However, it is clear from this analysis that the UK can and should do better.
“Our poor performance on cancer survival compared with other leading countries is well-known and continues to be a concern.
“We enter the new parliament with a mountain to climb in reducing preventable hospital admissions and improving survival from common killer diseases, all at a time of continuing austerity affecting public services.”
The review, which compared performance from 2000 to 2012, looked at 27 different indicators, the key findings of which included:
• Rates for immunisation were higher in the UK, which suggested that the system for providing global care was working well.
• The overall rates of prescribed antibiotics in the UK was lower than those in many countries, although the volume prescribed was rising.
• Avoidable hospital admissions for conditions such as respiratory disease and asthma were high.
• Death rates for heart attacks and strokes were higher than in other countries.
• Survival and death rates for cancer were worse than other nations.
A spokesman from the Department of Health said that the signs were still promising.
He said “The report shows we’ve made significant progress in quality across the board.
“The NHS is already perhaps the most equitable system globally and we are now focusing on tackling preventable conditions like obesity and type two diabetes.”
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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk ), Medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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