Decades of Underfunding has Left the National Health Service in Crisis
Briatin has fallen behind all comparator countried with respect to the percentage of the nation's wealth that is spent on health. In all measures we are at or close to the bottom of the European league tables and far below the averages of the 14 comparator nations in the King’s Fund report.
These statistics show in stark terms how far the UK has fallen behind other comparable and neighbouring countries in health provision. At their most extreme they show that Germany had 46% more doctors per head, 68% more nurses, 3 times as many hospital beds, 4 times as many CT scanners and a staggering almost 5 times as many MRI scanners, as the UK.
In fact, UK is far behind the national averages of the 14 comparator nations on all measures.
While the data is correct only up to 2018, no-one is claiming that the situation has improved since then. Indeed, the numbers will have changed a little since 2018 but the comparisons will be similar. It is possible that the UK’s relative position may have further deteriorated and updated figures will be of interest.
The issues discussed here and much more will be analysed in our forthcoming pamphlet on the nation's health service, and what must be done to rebuild it.
| Numbers Per Thousand of National Populations | Numbers Per Million People | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors | Nurses | Hospital Beds | CT Scanners | MRI Scanners | |
| Germany | 4.1 | 13.3 | 8.1 | 36 | 33 |
| France | 3.1 | 9.9 | 6.1 | 17 | 18 |
| Belgium | 3 | 10.8 | 6.2 | 23 | 12 |
| Netherlands | 3.5 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 14 | 12 |
| UK | 2.8 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 9 | 7 |
| Averages of 14 Comparator Nations | 3.6 | 10.2 | 4.3 | 24 | 15 |