We hear “NHS in Crisis” every day, yet speaking to my friends I am surprised just how many positive examples of hospital care they tell me.
Yet what’s this I now see?: NHS ranked ‘number one’ health system
The research by the Commonwealth Fund, a US think tank, looked at countries across the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany. The UK NHS came top, the USA bottom of 15 nations.
Only in one of the five themes looked at did the NHS perform poorly compared with the other nations – health outcomes. This covers general health of the population, early deaths and cancer survival among other measures.
Whoops! Suddenly a theme of personal interest. However my initial experience at Cambridge’s Addenbrooke’s Hospital has been excellent.
“Crisis” is an empowerment tool in process-dominated systems. It is a crude tool which can lead to quick action, but not always the best long term solutions. The current bi-partisan divisions play into “victim” – “rescuer” – “persecutor” dynamics. We need mature adult dialogue from all sides if we are to make “the best health system” better for the future.