Pharmaceutical Field - NHS spends less per patient than rest of UK

NHS spends less per patient than rest of UK

The NHS in England spends 10% less per patient than health services in other UK countries, according to a new National Audit Office (NAO) report.

There are also fewer nurses, midwives and healthcare visitors per 100,000 people in England than in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and only the former pay prescription charges.

However, life expectancy is highest in England, and average hospital stays for acute care are shortest.

The first official report comparing health systems across the UK shows that the impact of austerity measures on healthcare spending has been deeper in England than in Scotland or Wales.

The NAO report’s findings include the following (for 2008-2010):

	England	Scotland	Wales	N. Ireland
Life expectancy (men)	78.6 years	75.9 years	77.6 years	77.1 years
Health service spend per person	£1,900	£2,072	£2,017	£2,106
GPs per 100K people	70	80	65	65
Average acute hospital stay	4.3 days	5.7 days	6.3 days	5.5 days
Emergency admissions per 100K people	9,994	9,917	11,472	Unknown

A DH spokesman commented: “England spends less per person on health care than Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales but has similar if not better health outcomes.”

However, differences in underlying health demographics and care pathways mean that comparisons are not straightforward.

For example, while the figures suggest that recent cuts in Welsh healthcare spending may have affected services, it is difficult to correlate the relatively low life expectancy in Scotland with any health service metric.