NHS performance lags behind that of other European states
The NHS ranks just 17th out of 29 European public health care systems and lags far behind many of its northern European neighbours as a provider of health care, according to an annual survey. The 2007
European Health Consumer Index covers all 27 EU members, as well as Norway and Switzerland and is compiled from a combination of public statistics and independent research.
The survey, first conducted in 2005 and produced by the Brussels-based
analysis and information organisation Health Consumer Powerhouse, ranks
the UK between Ireland and Italy and in a similar league to Hungary,
Slovenia and Greece.
Points are awarded in five categories covering 27 performance indicators.
The categories are: patients’ rights and information; waiting times
for common treatments; care outcomes; the generosity of the system; and
access to medicines.
The UK scored 581 points out of a potential 1,000 compared with 806 points
attained by the 2007 index winner Austria. Austria’s performance
is closely followed by that of the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and
Germany.
The UK scored well in the patient information category because of its
electronic GP records, NHS Direct and quality rankings for providers,
but it scored badly on waiting times and access to new treatments, especially
for cancer patients.
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections remain a significant
health threat in the UK, as they do in half of the health systems measured,
says the report.
The report points out that the top five countries, which fall within
36 points of each other on the 1,000-point scale, all have dedicated
Bismarckian health care systems. (Bismarckian systems are based on social
insurance, where there is a multitude of insurance organisations that
are organisationally independent of health care providers.)
There is then a gap of 30 points to the first country with a Beveridge
system, which is Sweden in sixth place. The NHS is the largest Beveridge-type
system in Europe, where financing and provision are handled within one
organisational system.
“Patients in the UK have the right to expect more. Despite substantial
funding increases, the UK still is a mediocre overall performer,” stated
Arne Björnberg, the Euro Health Consumer Index director. “It
may be that this represents the end of the road for the rationing approach
which the UK has pursued,” she added.
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