jakem1 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 The NHS has been declared the world's best healthcare system by an international panel of experts who rated its care superior to countries which spend far more on health. The same study also castigated healthcare provision in the US as the worst globally. Despite putting the most money into health, America denies care to many patients in need because they do not have health insurance and is also the poorest at saving the lives of people who fall ill, it found. The report has been produced by the Commonwealth Fund, a Washington-based foundation which is respected around the world for its analysis of the performance of different countries' health systems. It examined an array of evidence about performance in 11 countries, including detailed data from patients, doctors and the World Health Organisation. "The United Kingdom ranks first overall, scoring highest on quality, access and efficiency," the fund's researchers conclude in their 30-page report. Their findings amount to a huge endorsement of the health service, especially as it spends the second-lowest amount on healthcare among the 11 ? just ?2,008 per head, less than half the ?5,017 in the US. Only New Zealand, with ?1,876, spent less. In the Commonwealth Fund study the UK came first out of the 11 countries in eight of the 11 measures of care the authors looked at. It got top place on measures including providing effective care, safe care, co-ordinated care and patient-centred care. The fund also rated the NHS as the best for giving access to care and for efficient use of resources. The only serious black mark against the NHS was its poor record on keeping people alive. On a composite "healthy lives" score, which includes deaths among infants and patients who would have survived had they received timely and effective healthcare, the UK came 10th. The authors say that the healthcare system cannot be solely blamed for this issue, which is strongly influenced by social and economic factors. Although the NHS came third overall for the timeliness of care, its "short waiting times" were praised. "There is a frequent misperception that trade-offs between universal coverage and timely access to specialised services are inevitable. However, the Netherlands, UK and Germany provide universal coverage with low out-of-pocket costs while maintaining quick access to speciality services,", the report added. The NHS also outperforms the other countries ? which include France, Germany and Canada ? in managing the care of people who are chronically ill, the report said. Read the rest at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/17/nhs-health I hope the Tories pay attention to this and stop trying to turn the NHS into a US-style mess. theyarecomingforyou, Shiranui and Vykranth 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Worlds Best The Evil Overlord 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 A better system would be where people took more care of their own health. Elliot B. and GotBored 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I hope the Tories pay attention to this and stop trying to turn the NHS into a US-style mess. Agreed. It's disgusting what the Tories are doing to the NHS - it won't remain the best for long if they continue with the savage cuts and privatisation. Shiranui, jamieakers, n_K and 2 others 5 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 A better system would be where people took more care of their own health. Yeah, because cancer, broken bones, appendicitis and heart attacks are all best treated at home. :rolleyes: Health services are essential to modern economies. Shifting the blame onto the individuals doesn't address the underlying problem. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the US ranked bottom given the immense opposition to universal healthcare. COKid, neo158, SecretAgentMan and 3 others 6 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rippleman Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Yeah, because cancer, broken bones, appendicitis and heart attacks are all best treated at home. :rolleyes: Health services are essential to modern economies. Shifting the blame onto the individuals doesn't address the underlying problem. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the US ranked bottom given the immense opposition to universal healthcare. to his defence, he did say "more", which means currently more then they do now, but not "all". I know many people that are their own personal worst enemies when it comes to health and are/will be a major drain to healthcare. GotBored 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 to his defence, he did say "more", which means currently more then they do now, but not "all". I know many people that are their own personal worst enemies when it comes to health and are/will be a major drain to healthcare. Agreed. So many people go to A&E and Hospitals for pitiful illnesses and conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Yeah, because cancer, broken bones, appendicitis and heart attacks are all best treated at home. :rolleyes: Much can be done at home to prevent diseases in the first place. Acting like 'I have no control over my life' is just plain foolish. xrobwx71 and Tews 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Much can be done at home to prevent diseases in the first place. Acting like 'I have no control over my life' is just plain foolish. But that has nothing to do with health systems, that relates to education and personal responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_K Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Nah, the NHS was the best but isn't anymore. Half the places displaying NHS logos are not NHS, as in, they're run by private companies under contract for the NHS and are complete sub-standard messes which need to be eradicated. I don't see the NHS improving any time soon since the introduction of more private contracts being offered/awarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blerk Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I just found this line funny The only serious black mark against the NHS was its poor record on keeping people alive. I generally agree that the NHS is a good system though. GotBored 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rippleman Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 But that has nothing to do with health systems, that relates to education and personal responsibility. true enough, but that is what he was actually implying "health" as a whole and not just one aspect/system. Well, the way I read it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Raze Subscriber² Posted June 18, 2014 Subscriber² Share Posted June 18, 2014 Yeah, because cancer, broken bones, appendicitis and heart attacks are all best treated at home. :rolleyes: Health services are essential to modern economies. Shifting the blame onto the individuals doesn't address the underlying problem. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the US ranked bottom given the immense opposition to universal healthcare. I believe you may have misunderstood his statement. I think he may have been referring to people taking better care of themselves via diet and exercise, etc. Preventative care should be part of any health care system, a very important part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatingFatMan Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Much can be done at home to prevent diseases in the first place. Acting like 'I have no control over my life' is just plain foolish. Most accidents happen IN the home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatingFatMan Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 I believe you may have misunderstood his statement. I think he may have been referring to people taking better care of themselves via diet and exercise, etc. Preventative care should be part of any health care system, a very important part. There are many ways in which the NHS could better utilise its funding. Take the current "obesity epidemic". Billions are being spent treating people for obesity and all its related medical problems such as diabetes and heart disease etc. They could save that by investing millions on proper dietary education in schools, providing subsidised gym memberships for those that need it, stopping food production corps from filling their products with unnecessary sugars and fats, all sorts of things like that. Currently, we're just treating the symptoms, not the cause. +Raze and theyarecomingforyou 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
game_over Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 There are many ways in which the NHS could better utilise its funding. Take the current "obesity epidemic". Billions are being spent treating people for obesity and all its related medical problems such as diabetes and heart disease etc. They could save that by investing millions on proper dietary education in schools, providing subsidised gym memberships for those that need it, stopping food production corps from filling their products with unnecessary sugars and fats, all sorts of things like that. Currently, we're just treating the symptoms, not the cause. Some people can't and wont be helped... a lot of the schools in the UK are now in deprivation, it's ok teaching dietary and health care* but when they go home to get loaded up on burgers & fried chips every night it would defeat the object, i work in an area with 80% deprivation, meaning the majority of them have nothing... no amount of health education or cheap gym memberships will solve it... unfortunately this trend is now much bigger in the UK than ever before and more are falling into poverty. With all the cuts going on this sort of funding just wont happen, it would take generations to fully implement- they have closed our local A&E and people are dying because of it, the government is effectively killing people so i'd say gym memberships is a long way away. I'm not saying i disagree with what you say i'm just looking at the situation more realistically. * btw, we do promote healthy eating, i work in an awarded 'healthy school' but it's not stopping the children getting fatter and fatter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaXray Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 It is a good system because it is 'free' (well, funded by taxes but you pay nothing when you need it). The system in america where they will just kick you out if you don't have insurance or can't even get an aspirin without a $200 payment is abhorrent. Not to mention that because you are not paying for treatment the NHS do not try and force unnecessary things on you, like how they try and do C-sections as a matter of course because the hospital makes more money than a natural birth and recommends circumcisions for bogus 'health reasons' simply because it is a chargable procedure. The fact that the system looks after the health of its citizens is something to be proud of. watkinsx2 and theyarecomingforyou 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey_richie Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Best system in the world, that leaks data from on high http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/9472/hscic-review-finds-data-release-%27lapses%27 NHS IC (Information Centre) became CfH (Connecting for Health) which became HSCIC (Health and Social Care Information Centre); it's a department of the DoH. Best system in the world, which implies consent for record sharing at a patient level (refer to care.data and the Diabetic Retinopathy screening programmes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_K Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Best system in the world, that leaks data from on high http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/9472/hscic-review-finds-data-release-%27lapses%27 NHS IC (Information Centre) became CfH (Connecting for Health) which became HSCIC (Health and Social Care Information Centre); it's a department of the DoH. Best system in the world, which implies consent for record sharing at a patient level (refer to care.data and the Diabetic Retinopathy screening programmes). I'm unaware of patient data sharing to do with retinopathy, can you expand further? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey_richie Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 I'm unaware of patient data sharing to do with retinopathy, can you expand further? There is a programme within the NHS called GP2DRS; General Practice to Diabetic Retinopathy Screening. Every patient who has a diagnosed diabetes (type 1 or 2) entered onto their patient notes will be included as part of the cohort, and uploaded to a 3rd party system hosted by QuickSilva. Demographic details are sent as default for all in-cohort patients (diabetic), and patients will then be approached by the screening programme for an eye test to ensure they're not at risk of losing their site. Clinical data items such as BP, BMI, ethnicity etc.. are not sent unless the patient consents. This consent model of consent-implied is what the NHS are moving towards, where patients aren't given the choice as to whether their demographic data is shared. Care.data is an example of this, which has now been delayed until later in the year due to GP's concerns about the data being sent to the SPINE/external parties. I was responsible for testing of the complete GP2DRS solution for a system supplier, so have first hand experience of the programme. http://www.hscic.gov.uk/article/3537/Which-organisations-will-be-able-to-request-data-extractions-from-GPES http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/primary-care/6456 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_K Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 There is a programme within the NHS called GP2DRS; General Practice to Diabetic Retinopathy Screening. Every patient who has a diagnosed diabetes (type 1 or 2) entered onto their patient notes will be included as part of the cohort, and uploaded to a 3rd party system hosted by QuickSilva. Demographic details are sent as default for all in-cohort patients (diabetic), and patients will then be approached by the screening programme for an eye test to ensure they're not at risk of losing their site. Clinical data items such as BP, BMI, ethnicity etc.. are not sent unless the patient consents. This consent model of consent-implied is what the NHS are moving towards, where patients aren't given the choice as to whether their demographic data is shared. Care.data is an example of this, which has now been delayed until later in the year due to GP's concerns about the data being sent to the SPINE/external parties. Care.data is an example of the opt-out system yes, but I am unaware of any such system for diabetic eye screening, and I've been having it done for well over 10 years now. Nothing I've been sent, given or told has implied any of my data from my eye screening is being used for other purposes, nor have I heard of anyone being asked or opting in to such a system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakem1 Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Yes, the sharing of medical data is a big concern and the current government seem intent on forcing it through with as little discussion and as few safeguards as possible. They argue that it is anonymised but it includes postcode and ethnicity data (amongst other things) and could easily be cross-referenced with other databases to identify individuals. I wouldn't be so concerned if they only included the first half of each postcode but that's not the plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey_richie Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Care.data is an example of the opt-out system yes, but I am unaware of any such system for diabetic eye screening, and I've been having it done for well over 10 years now. Nothing I've been sent, given or told has implied any of my data from my eye screening is being used for other purposes, nor have I heard of anyone being asked or opting in to such a system. You may want to speak to your GP/Practice Manager about their consent model regards GP2DRS data extracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technord Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 as someone who has friends with serious health issues, I have to agree with the NHS being the worlds best MikeChipshop 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted June 18, 2014 Member Share Posted June 18, 2014 God bless the NHS. A decent system, for a decent price that's struggling in the current state of the country as is everything else. It's kept my friends, my family and I alive and healthy for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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