UK healthcare 'worse than Estonia'
Updated on 13 November 2008
Patients receive worse healthcare in the UK than in former Soviet state Estonia.
Services in Britain were ranked 13th - one spot above Hungary - in a league table of 31 European nations.
Responding to the results, Health Secretary Alan Johnson condemned the data as "flawed". The UK improved on its position last year, when it was four places lower, the report claimed.
The best-performing countries in the Euro Health Consumer Index, conducted in Brussels, were Holland, Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg.
A spokeswoman for Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP), which has been compiling the annual index since 2005, said: "We hope this table sparks debate about having the NHS or private health services as are offered in the Netherlands."
The organisation's president, Johan Hjertqvist, added: "It is justified to say that the Dutch have the best healthcare system in Europe. When the Obama healthcare policy team looks in Europe for inspiration it seems to be the right system to study."
In another international report, Britain's health services compared better however.
Despite lengthy waits for specialist care, Commonwealth Fund research found the UK has one of the highest performing health services for "access", "chronic illness" and "efficiency".
Services compared favourably with those in Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany and the US, the authors said.
The Commonwealth Fund found the UK's health service was outperforming the US in several categories.
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