The National Health Service (NHS) of England is a health care system that is publicly funded for every person living in the United Kingdom. This is the largest health care system in the country that is single payer funded. The funds for this system come from tax money and is operated by the Department of Health. Many of the health services under NHS are free to the legal residents of England.
Emergency treatment and treatment for infectious diseases are free to all people in the country including visitors. The NHS is one of the largest healthcare systems around. They have seen a 12 percent growth in 2017 and keep on expanding. While they are looking to expand even further, there is a shortage of nurses. The number of doctors is even decline. The government is trying to encourage more qualified health care professionals to join NHS.
NHS is suffering from staff turnover. While the government is trying to keep this organization going strong, the cost of running a free health care program is starting to damage the financial stability of the country. The staff shortages are putting the care of patients at risk. While those that work for this system are passionate about health care, they do not get paid that much money. If the qualified professionals went to work at a different organization, they would make a lot more money and this is the issue. Even in the hospitals, patient need to wait until here is an open bed. Important procedures are being delayed due to the lack of staffing.
The government has been looking to reform the NHS and improve the funding. There was a power shift and the operations were left to the Clinical Commissioning Group. There have also been changes to this group in the recent times. Health care is not costing billions each year and the NHS did get a significant increase in funding for 2018- 2019. Spending per person is expected to increase by 3.5 percent. The company is also looking to change their operating model.
The model they were using was designed in the 1970s and since that time health care needs have changed. In addition to basic health care services the NHS will help cover the cost of prescription medications. They also have dentistry services and can assist a person with their optical needs. They have over 300 charities to help cover the cost of care so that their patients do not have to pay for service.