the nhs has failed as the uk has one of the lowest life expectancy in western Europe and is one of the richest countries

[ljwales]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

Apparently the life expectancy for women is going down rapidly towards the male life expectancy. We have one of the most expensive health care systems in Europe but yet one of the worst levels of health. Aibu to think things really could be better?

what do you think?

Please give your information source for us having one of the most expensive health care systems in Europe

Wikipedia are not always right.

Well things like smoking and obesity isn't the nhs fault! And those are the biggest killers

I wonder if it relates to increased obesity and more sedentary lifestyles, neither of which are the NHS's fault

So why does the media keep banging on about how everyone is living longer and costing a fortune in healthcare and pensions?

I've read about the reasons for women's life expectancy dropping. It has more to do with the changes in our lifestyles than in our health care system. Women are now living their lives in a much more similar way to men than has been the case in past generations.....we drink more, smoke more, have more stressful jobs....this argument makes a lot more sense to me the blaming the NHS.

I believe we actually have one of the cheapest healthcare systems around, and if we were prepared to spend a bit more on health we would get better results.

Studies consistently show that the UK has one of the most cost effective health systems in the world in terms of outcomes for the amount spent (and the endless reorganisations).

Before evil managers get trotted out as the blame for the apparent failings, it has the least spent in terms of management and administration costs compared to national and private sectors here and abroad.

Well It does seem like the money spent on the NHS doesn't equal a healthier nation, the spending keeps going up while people are getting more unhealthy.

Life expectancy figures with no context mean very little. Cause of death is a big bit of missing information.

Healthcare is a finite resource with limitations. No one has found a cure for death yet. There's only so much that can be done for someones blocked arteries or terminal cancer.

I thought the nhs was one of the cheapest systems in Europe? I've always thought it needed significantly better funding.

....which might allow for more support around tackling obesity. Which is obvioulsy not the NHS's "fault" - which health problems are?? - but the NHS is one obvious means of tackling it.

While it is true that the UK is one of the richest european countries, it is also one of the most unequal. The north of the UK has some of the poorest communities in Western Europe and these places have a very low life expectancy.

The NHS is a much cheaper system than the french or German ones which spend a significantly higher proportion of GDP on health care.

Sorry I stand corrected, its midd!e of the road for funding but bottom of the list for life expectancy

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_(PPP)_per_capita

the spending keeps going up while people are getting more unhealthy

Or - people are getting unhealthier because of lifestyle and living longer so the spending goes up to keep up with people.

You're wrong- it's not expensive and it is effective.

Life expectancy

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

But I bet that masks a lot of difference between areas of our society.

Some people in some groups live far longer than some people in other groups.

It's not the fault of the NHS that people in this country don't take care of themselves and therefore die earlier. There is something to be said for personal responsibility, UK culture (food, drink, fags, telly) and high deprivation. The NHS is the little boy trying to plug the hole in the dike with his finger.
Disclaimer: I work for the NHS.

And there's not much in it - if you look at the top 30. It's pretty much the same for Western Europe.

Life expectancy shouldn't just been seen as the fault of the health service. It has a lot of influencing factors that make it incredibly difficult to compare to other countries.

Life expectancy isn't determined by healthcare alone though OP. Once you've got a baby safely though birth and infectious illnesses of childhood, a health system being slightly better or worse doesn't really make much difference to life expectancy.

The major factors that affect life expectancy are lifestyle ones, and in developed countries these are overwhelmingly linked with wealth. In short, people who grow up rich in wealthy communities live a lot longer than people who grow up poor in deprived communities.

OP - why do some parts of the UK have a far lower life expectancy than other parts - given the funding is pretty much the same?

The increases in life expectancy in the last few decades in the Western World are largely due to sanitation, antibiotics and vaccinations, not individual healthcare systems.