NHS Delivers Poorer Health Outcome Than Many Comparable Countries: UK Report

A general view of the NHS logo on Nov. 6, 2010. Dominic Lipinski/PA Images

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is lagging behind many comparable countries in terms of health outcomes, a study has found.

While the taxpayer-funded health care system does well in shielding the ill from the financial impact, it performs worse in a number of important outcomes such as life expectancy and avoidable deaths, according to the research (pdf), published on June 26 by The King’s Fund.

Among a basket of 19 higher-income industrialised countries, British females’ life expectancy at birth was the second-lowest, ahead of only the United States, between 2018 and 2020, the study shows.

British females’ life expectancy was between 82 to 84 years, while Japanese females were expected to live to more than 87.

The life expectancy of males in Britain was the third-lowest in the time period, at around 78 years, higher only than that in Portugal and the United States.

The UK is also at the top of the league regarding avoidable mortality rates, with the fourth-highest rate of mortality from preventable causes and the second-highest rate of mortality from treatable diseases.

Between January 2020 and June 2022, the UK’s cumulative mortality rates also were higher than many comparable countries, the research said.

The breast cancer survival rate in the UK was below average compared to peer countries, while infant mortality rate and case fatality rates for heart attacks and strokes were higher than average.

Meanwhile, diabetes patients enjoyed better outcomes in the UK, where there was a “relatively low hospital admission rate” and second-lowest foot and leg amputation rate.

In terms of health status and health care outcomes, the NHS is “more of a laggard than a leader,” but overall, it’s “neither a leader nor a laggard,” the report said.

It found the system performing “relatively well on some measures of efficiency,” such as the prescription rate of cheaper generic medicines and share of spending on administration.

Reliance on Foreign-Trained Staff

Siva Anandaciva, the report’s author, blamed insufficient funding for the NHS’s “middling at best” performance.

“The pressures of the pandemic on our health service compounded the consequences of more than a decade of squeezed investment,” he said.

“This leaves the NHS delivering performance that is middling, at best, and the UK must do much more to reduce the number of people dying early from diseases such as heart disease and cancer.”

According to the study, the UK’s spending on health care has generally been lower than average both as a share of GDP and per capita.

The UK has “substantially fewer key physical resources than many of its peers, including CT and MRI scanners and hospital beds,” it said.

The study also found “strikingly low levels of key clinical staff” in the UK, which is “heavily reliant on foreign-trained staff” such as doctors and nurses.

Satisfaction Rate High

The study compared health care systems in the UK, the United States, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, Australia, Finland, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Japan.

The sample represents a range of different funding models from the most taxpayer-funded NHS to systems mostly reliant on compulsory health insurance.

While health outcome was poorer than comparable countries, the report said the UK’s health system offers a “relatively high degree of financial protection” for its service users.

Britons were also the most satisfied with their health care system, at least until 2019.

According to an Ipsos Mori survey cited in the report, the UK’s citizen satisfaction with their health care system was among the highest in 2019. Another poll conducted in 2019 found the NHS was the No. 1 source of national pride for most Britons.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the report “recognises the NHS is one of the most efficiently run health care systems and we are investing up to £14.1 billion to improve services and cut waiting lists, one of the government’s top five priorities.”