What is the NHS? NHS Review

1. System Introduction

The UK National Health Service (NHS) follows the principle of selectivity in helping the poor and advocates the principle of universality. All British citizens with income must participate in social insurance, pay insurance premiums according to a unified standard, and enjoy relevant benefits according to a unified standard, regardless of their income. The welfare system is managed and implemented by the government.

The opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics has just entered the song and dance performance stage, showcasing two elements that best represent Britain: one is J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter, who were once the leaders in world children's literature; the other is the nurses who have contributed to the National Health Service (NHS) that provides free medical care to all British people.

The British National Health Insurance System was established in 1948 and united the hearts of the British people during World War II. It is worth mentioning that the dancers participating in the performance are not professional actors, but are from the British National Health Insurance System, including 1,200 nurses from various hospitals in London.

1. NHS funding sources

The main source of funding for the NHS is taxation. As the largest expenditure item in the UK's social welfare system, the government allocated more than 90 billion pounds in 2009, 10 times the first allocation of 9 billion pounds 60 years ago. The NHS serves more than 60 million people in the UK and is the largest public health system in the world, with 1.5 million employees, including 90,000 hospital doctors, 35,000 family doctors, 400,000 nurses and 16,000 emergency personnel. There are 1,600 hospitals and special care centers across the country.

2. NHS structure

The NHS system is divided into two levels. The first level is community-based primary care services, such as family doctors (General Practitioners, referred to as GP), dentists, pharmacies, eye examinations, etc. Every British resident must register at a GP clinic near their home and make an appointment with the GP first. Any further treatment must be referred by the first level of primary care. The second level of medical care is mainly hospital-based, including emergency, specialist outpatient and examination, surgical treatment and inpatient care.

2. Implementation of Grading

1. Primary health care

It is called primary care, which is the main part of the NHS and consists of family clinics and community clinics. 75% of NHS funds are used for this part;

2. Secondary care

It refers to the hospital, which is responsible for the treatment of serious illnesses and surgeries, as well as the overall allocation of medical resources.

At the beginning of its establishment, NHS played a very positive role in improving people's health and was widely welcomed by the society. However, the problems and contradictions faced by NHS are becoming more and more prominent, with insufficient funds and low efficiency becoming the main problems. With the increase in population and the improvement of health quality requirements, the medical services of NHS are far from meeting people's medical needs. The huge organization has caused serious waste of resources within NHS, low efficiency, and a serious decline in the enthusiasm of medical staff for medical care, and people's dissatisfaction with NHS is increasing day by day.

References

• 1. NHS (National Health Service) : Baidu Encyclopedia