The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s latest health report makes for sobering reading for the UK.1Health at a Glance 2023 compares key indicators on population health and health system performance across the 38 OECD member countries. It shows that the UK is lagging behind on several key measures.
For example, the data from 2021 show that the UK’s cancer mortality was 222 deaths per 100 000 population, against the OECD average of 202 per 100 000. The number of adverse outcomes within one year of congestive heart failure was 69.5 per 100 patients, far higher than the average of 57.3. The UK’s 30 day mortality after stroke was 9%, against the OECD average of 7.8%. And life expectancy in the UK was 80.4 years, behind many other European countries, including France, Italy, and Spain.
Is the UK spending on the right things?
The UK spends more on healthcare than similar countries: equivalent to 11.3% of gross domestic product in 2022. Only five countries—the US, Germany, France, Japan, and Austria—spend a greater proportion of GDP. However, the report pointed out the UK has only 2.4 hospital beds per 1000 population, less than the OECD average of 4.3, with only Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, and Sweden reporting fewer beds. The UK also has fewer MRI, CT, and PET scanners than …
