World struggles on asthma
Thursday November 24th, 2011
The world's wealthiest countries are struggling to provide good care for asthma and diabetes - while the UK continues to lag behind others on cancer treatment, according to a major report published yesterday.
The
study of OECD countries shows Britain lagging behind others in preventing
asthma and COPD complications - but massively better at caring for people
with diabetes.
The report shows steady improvements in cancer care across the OECD - and massive improvements in saving heart attack patients.
Some 84 per cent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 survived for five years compared with 79 per cent in 1997. In Britain it was 81 per cent compared with 75 per cent in 1997.
The report highlights the surge in spending on the NHS in the last year's of the Labour government. By 2009 British spending was greater than the OECD average for the first time - increasing its share of overall national income by 1.4 percentage points in just two years to reach 9.8 per cent.
The British rate of hospital admission for uncontrolled diabetes is half the OECD average, the figures show - while countries such as Austria and Hungary struggle to provide good care for the disease.
In more than half of the countries, at least half the population is now overweight, the report says. Countries such as Denmark, Finland, France and Hungary are seeking to tackle the problem by taxing foods high in fat and sugar - but the OECD says it is too early to know if this will work.
UK health secretary Andrew Lansley claimed the report as evidence of the need to "modernise" the NHS.
He said: "It clearly shows that although the NHS is doing well in some areas, it is still lagging behind other countries in some key areas of patient care.
“Improving patient results is a top priority for me. We need to allow the NHS to focus on what really matters to patients; things like survival rates, recovery rates and whether people can live independently and with dignity."
Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Cancer | Diabetes | Europe | UK News | World Health
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