Spending on and Availability of Health Care Resources: Policy Briefing

Policy BriefingMay 9, 2018Comments Off on Spending on and Availability of Health Care Resources: Policy Briefing

A policy briefing is available for LKS staff to share in their organisations.  Produced by the JET Library at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  Feel free to reproduce it (with acknowledgement).

What does this mean for libraries?

With health care spending at lower levels than other countries, it is imperative that the best use is made of resources, and library and knowledge services should have a key role in ensuring health care practice and commissioning is evidence-based and effective.

Unfortunately, the potential understaffing identified in this report may make it more difficult for health care staff to always make effective use of the evidence base. Library and knowledge staff can support this by providing value-added and time-saving services such as evidence searches, current awareness alerts, point of care tools and more.

Source: King’s Fund

Link to main document

Date of publication: May 2018

Summary of driver:

  • The King’s Fund compared health spending in the UK to other OECD countries (excluding the U.S.)
  • The UK has 2.8 doctors per 1,000 population – below the OECD average of 3.6
  • The UK has 7.9 nurses per 1,000 population – also fewer than average. Germany has 13.3 and Switzerland 18
  • The UK has 2.6 beds per 1,000 population compared to an average of 4.4. This is similar to Canada and New Zealand but far below Germany and Austria
  • The UK has fewer residential beds for long-term care than average. We are just ahead of Spain and just behind Canada. The Netherlands and Switzerland have the most
  • We have the fewest CT scanners per 1,000,000 population. Australia and Denmark are top
  • We also have the fewest MRI scanners per 1,000,000 population
  • Spending on drugs – outside drugs in hospital – makes up about a sixth of spending
  • We spend £500 per person per year – below the average amount but this might be due to more efficient purchasing
  • Some companies finance their health service via taxation – the Beveridge model. These include the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
  • Others have compulsory health insurance, the Bismarck model e.g. Germany and France
  • Since 2008 most countries have tried to contain health expenditure to some extent
  • Social care spending is now included in our health spending meaning the spending as a percentage of GDP has gone up from 8.7% to 9.8%
  • This is about average. Germany, France and Sweden spend about 11%
  • There are around 100,000 vacancies for clinical staff in the English NHS
  • Nearly half of nurses do not think there are enough staff to let them do their job properly
  • The UK is one of the best systems in the world at using cheaper, generic medicines
  • Thanks to more efficient use the number of hospital beds has halved in the last 30 years
  • BUT more than 90% of hospital beds are now occupied, higher than the recommended 85% level
  • Budgets for adult social care fell by 8% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2015/16

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