Britain Welfare System

To what extent does BritainЎЇs welfare system (National Health Service) provide for the needs of its citizens?

Outline

1 Thesis Statement:

The NHS is considered to be one of the best healthcare systems in the world by the World Health Organization. But in recent years, administrative difficulty has become a big problem for fulfilling the need of the British people.

2 Introductions:

A. The history, scale, functions and targets of the NHS.

B. Some problems of the NHS disclosed in the case of Li Guangyao.

3 Section1:

The advantages of the NHS:

A. The system provides great benefit for the citizens in large extension.

B. The system meets the need of the citizens in various kinds of services.

4 Section2:

The disadvantages of the NHS:

A. The quality reduction of the services

B. The efficiency reduction of the services

5 Conclusion:

The NHS still has a long way to go to meet the need of the British citizens.

Introductions:

The National Health Service Act of 1946 established the socialized health-care system, which the central philosophy that based on ÐŽoneedÐŽ± rather than ÐŽothe ability to payÐŽ±. It went into effect on 5th July 1948. Its purpose is to provide free healthcare for all citizens. This NHS system was considered to be one of the BritainЎЇs greatest achievements and became the model of the healthcare system for other nations.

The NHS now is the largest organization in Europe with more than 1.3 million employers and a budget of around £42 billion year. It serves over 50 million people in England. General taxation pays for 82% of the systemЎЇs cost, and the national insurance paymentЎЄmoney that employers and employees contributeЎЄtakes care of 12 %.

The system provided better health care than most people could previously afford. It brought hospital services, family practitioner services and community-based services into one organization for the first time.

Although since 1948 there have been huge changes to both the organizational of the NHS and the way that patient services are provided, the NHS still holds its basic principle of providing free medical care for all British people regardless of income.

However, on October 26th, 2003, Li Guangyao, a famous cabinet official of Singapore, with his wife, Ke Yuzhi, was giving a visit to London, when his wife got a sudden apoplexy and was in great danger. To their surprise the ambulance arrived 45 minutes later after they had made the emergency call. WhatЎЇs more, while in the hospital, they had to wait for 2 hours until finally succeeded in getting a CTScan. At last, they could not help but called for an expert from Singapore and transport the patient back to their country to get treatments. ÐŽoThe all free charge of the services has seriously reduced the quality and efficiency of the services in the hospitals of Britain. We should learn the lesson from BritainЎЇs NHS and should not follow its stepsЎЄnever provide all free services for the citizens.ÐŽ± said Li afterwards.

Why couldnЎЇt BritainЎЇs hospital offer a good and efficient treatment to the patient? Is there anything to do with the NHS? Is it really one of the best healthcare systems in the world? Below we are going to see to what extent does the NHS provide for the needs of the British citizens from analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of it.

The advantages of the NHS:

First letЎЇs talk about the health services in China. Nowadays the Public Health Service and Medical Insurance for workers are the major ways of healthcare the Chinese government provides for the citizens. The former one will pay the total or part of the fee of healthcare for the public officials (including those who are retired) and students who are receiving higher education in public university. The latter one is funded by the workers and their companies, who should pay about 2% and 6% respectively of the workersЎЇ salary, and the remainders by the government. It will support the patient with at least 10% of the average salary of the local workers and up to 4 times. This kind of healthcare system has a great problem that it canЎЇt provide healthcare effectively to all the citizens in a large enough extension. A lot of citizens like children, countrymen and workers in companies that are less formal are hard to benefit from the system, especially those who are in rural area.

While in Britain, all the citizens were deemed to have a right to free health care. Patients only have to pay the prescriptions, dental treatment, sight tests, etc. some certain patients such as children under 16 ( under19 for those who are receiving full-time education), pregnant women, the unemployed, those disabled in the armed forces, men over 65, and women over 60 are exempt from all payments or fees. Though treatment fees for items such as prescriptions and eyewear have continued to rise for patients in recent decades, the NHS are still quite benefit for the citizens of nationwide.

The NHS covers physician and dental services, prescription drugs, hospital care, and so on. It provides better healthcare than most people could previously afford. In Britain, every citizen can register with a general practitioner (GP) who looks after their health and deal with a wide range of health problems in the local community. The GPs and their teams also provide health education and advice on things like smoking and diet, run clinics, give vaccinations and carry out simple surgical operations. Compared with the Chinese healthcare system, the service provided by the Britain is more circumspect, as the Chinese one only help cover the fees of the treatment when the citizens got sick; while British citizens can be looked after from the day they were born. The system focuses on not only treating the patient but also preventing people from getting sick. Apart from treatments, the citizens can also get free services like tests, health advice, etc.