The National Health Service (NHS) Advantages Over Private Healthcare

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, contrasting it with private healthcare systems. It highlights the NHS's advantages, including its publicly funded nature, which ensures healthcare access based on need rather than financial capacity. The essay emphasizes the NHS's superior intensive care facilities, specialist doctors, and commitment to staff training, leading to high standards of patient care. It also discusses the NHS's cost-effectiveness, making it a preferred choice for many in England, and its role in providing free or low-cost treatments. The analysis references the NHS's success in saving lives globally and its top rankings in healthcare surveys, underscoring its value for money and adaptability to advancements in medicine. The essay concludes by acknowledging the challenges faced by the NHS while asserting its potential to provide world-class healthcare facilities if adequately funded.

Running head: THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)
The National Health Service
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2THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)
The National Health Service (NHS) is the oldest and the largest single payer health
care system of the world, based in England. It is a publicly funded system for the citizen of
England and is one among the four largest health care services in the United Kingdom. It
provides healthcare facilities including dentistry, primary care, long term healthcare, in-
patient care and ophthalmology to every legal resident of UK. The private health care system
has continues parallel to the NHS since its emergence in 19481. In this article about the
excellencies of NHS over the private healthcare system. However, the things are no longer
that easy in current days, as the differences between the private healthcare system and NHS
are blurring with the passage of time but still there are minute key differences between them.
It is very costly to have an intensive-care unit (ITU) in a healthcare system and as
according to the recent data; around 90 percent of the total private hospitals in U.K have
inadequate backup facilities for the intensive-care treatments. While in NHS specialist
hospitals, they have excellent intensive care facilities and there is no need of routine
procedures as well2. Although they are present in few specialist private hospitals in U.K but
they often lack this. It is a known fact that if a patient becomes critically unwell in the private
hospitals in England then they are likely to get transferred to the nearby NHS facility for their
emergency care. In fact, if one requires a complex cardiac scan, the private hospitals may also
refer him to the NHS for that test. So, what does these means? The NHS has many other
specialist doctors that are global leaders in areas like cardiac, pediatric and cancer care3.
According to the recent survey, people all over the world fly in to U.K in order to get
treatment under these doctors in the NHS yet they are frequently ignored and overlooked by
the U.K private hospitals. With the same, the patients in the NHS are seen quicker and are
1 Choices, N. H. S. "About the NHS." (2013).
2 Patel, V., et al. "Near‐total mandibular reconstruction in the absence of microvascular grafts." Oral Surgery 9.4
(2016): 215-221.
3 Ray, Sumantra, et al. "Nutrition education and leadership for improved clinical outcomes: training
and supporting junior doctors to run ‘Nutrition Awareness Weeks’ in three NHS hospitals across
England." BMC medical education 14.1 (2014): 109.

3THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)
treated with better food. It has always committed to provide a high level of training to its
staffs and as a result they are dedicated in applying high standards of care to the patients4.
According to the recent information, NHS holds the top position in the healthcare survey
study of the Washington based foundation. It had also been declared as the best healthcare
system by the international experts. They rated its service superior to other countries which
spent way more on health5. With the same, the Commonwealth fund has also rated it number
one for providing access to good care and for effective use of resources. Hence, it can be said
that local private hospitals may not be the best place to be treated.
The cost is the primary reason why most of the people in England prefer NHS over
the private hospitals. NHS is pocket friendly. There are only few healthcare system like NHS
who are totally publicly funded6. The patient's here are treated as according to their need and
illness rather than their ability to expend. Each patient are treated under advanced medical
technologies, up to date medicines and resources. It provides cost-free treatments to millions
of patients per year while the price of private healthcare system largely varies depending
upon the patient’s level to cover or whether they makes the use of ‘pay as you go’ option.
The NHS system are there in order to make money for itself but they are not a ‘profit making’
organization in a true sense. They often offer treatments either, free of cost or at a lower cost
as compared to the private hospitals of U.K.7. For example, most of the women in U.K gives
birth to their babies, supported by the free NHS care. The NHS midwives provides the
antenatal care according to the recommended schedule of the appointments. However, few of
4 England, N. H. S. "NHS ENGLAND." Evidence review: pasireotide for acromegaly as third-line treatment
(adults). Dostęp: https://www. engage. england. nhs.
uk/consultation/clinical-commissioningwave4/user_uploads/a03x11-pasiretd-evidnc-rep. pdf (28.12.
2016) (2016).
5 'What's So Good About The NHS? | FUND OUR NHS' (FUND OUR NHS, 2017)
<http://nhsfunding.info/cure/can-we-afford-the-nhs/> accessed 13 November 2017
6 Beckert, Walter, Mette Christensen, and Kate Collyer. "Choice of NHS‐funded Hospital Services in
England." The Economic Journal 122.560 (2012): 400-417.
7 Khalil, Modar, et al. "Prospective analysis of the use of OnabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) in the treatment of
chronic migraine; real-life data in 254 patients from Hull, UK." The journal of headache and pain 15.1 (2014):
54.

4THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)
the women choose to pay for all the provided facilities but most of them do not pay for any
care including the scans and blood tests. At the Same time, they also allow their patient to
enjoy the benefit of private rooms and consultant-led healthcare facility. Private midwife for
the antenatal care are present in the private health care centers as well but still women in U.K
prefer to go for NHS birth care.
Since the year 1948, NHS has not only served the U.K patients but it is also
successful in saving the lives of millions of people all around the world. Hence, from the
above analysis it could be stated that NHS is the best and most effective healthcare system
and the primary reasons behind it are clearly stated above. The main reason behind the top
position of NHS in the Commonwealth fund is based on the fact that it is completely a
publicly funded organization8. Through its large network of organization, NHS gives the
value for money. It grants a fair and impartial access to care. In addition to that, it is
adjustable to this changing field of medicines. Though the organization is facing many
challenges in the recent years, it has proven itself to be the best healthcare system not only in
U.K but for the entire world population. It has the potential to provide its future patients a
world-class healthcare facilities, if only it is funded well enough. Hence, there is no doubt
that it is better than any other private hospitals in U.K.
8 Secretary of State for Health, ed. High quality care for all: NHS next stage review final report. Vol. 7432. The
Stationery Office, 2014.

5THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)
References
Beckert, Walter, Mette Christensen, and Kate Collyer. "Choice of NHS‐funded Hospital
Services in England." The Economic Journal 122.560 (2012): 400-417.
Choices, N. H. S. "About the NHS." (2013).
England, N. H. S. "NHS ENGLAND." Evidence review: pasireotide for acromegaly as third-
line treatment (adults). Dostęp: https://www. engage. england. nhs. uk/consultation/clinical-
commissioningwave4/user_uploads/a03x11-pasiretd-evidnc-rep. pdf (28.12. 2016) (2016).
Khalil, Modar, et al. "Prospective analysis of the use of OnabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) in
the treatment of chronic migraine; real-life data in 254 patients from Hull, UK." The journal
of headache and pain 15.1 (2014): 54.
Patel, V., et al. "Near‐total mandibular reconstruction in the absence of microvascular
grafts." Oral Surgery 9.4 (2016): 215-221.
Ray, Sumantra, et al. "Nutrition education and leadership for improved clinical outcomes:
training and supporting junior doctors to run ‘Nutrition Awareness Weeks’ in three NHS
hospitals across England." BMC medical education 14.1 (2014): 109.
Secretary of State for Health, ed. High quality care for all: NHS next stage review final
report. Vol. 7432. The Stationery Office, 2014.
'What's So Good About The NHS? | FUND OUR NHS' (FUND OUR NHS, 2017)
<http://nhsfunding.info/cure/can-we-afford-the-nhs/> accessed 13 November 2017