BMJ  2008;336:1457 (28 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.a440 (published 19 June 2008)

News

NHS might have to attract more private money if it is to improve standards

Rebecca Coombes

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The United Kingdom has little choice but to pull more private funds into the NHS, by such methods as allowing patients to top up care by paying out of their own pocket, if it is to maintain and improve healthcare standards in the future, a leading academic said this week.

Chris Ham, professor of health policy and management at Birmingham University, who was giving the first BMJ lecture, pointed out that the UK relied far less on private funding than other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. In the UK, 87% of health spending comes from the public purse compared with 72-73% in the average OECD country.

"If we look at our funding levels in the UK compared to OECD countries, we are now at one end of the spectrum. If we are going to fund new technologies, how far are we willing to move in the direction . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Richards, M. (2008). National cancer director responds on top-up payments. BMJ 337: a686-a686 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

More healthcare at what price?
Peter A West
bmj.com, 20 Jun 2008 [Full text]
slightly misleading outlook
benjamin dean
bmj.com, 21 Jun 2008 [Full text]
more private funding - 60 million uninsured Americans
David Ansell
bmj.com, 23 Jun 2008 [Full text]
Prof Mike Richards responds
Mike Richards
bmj.com, 1 Jul 2008 [Full text]
JCCO survey on top up payments
Alison L Jones, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Oct 2008 [Full text]
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