Struggling NHS ‘lags on patient spending’
However, there were fewer healthcare-associated infections in the UK and fewer people suffered a blood clot after surgery.
Smoking rates in 2017 were far lower in the UK, but alcohol consumption was about average and rates of obesity were higher.
To improve performance, the NHS would need to spend more money on staffing, long term care and other social services, researchers said.
Depleted
A report published in the British Medical Journal said: “The NHS showed pockets of good performance, including in health service outcomes, but spending, patient safety, and population health were all below average to average at best.”
The report also revealed that the UK had the fewest nurses per 1,000 people, at 7.8 compared to an average of 11.4. Switzerland had more than double at 17.2.
That finding comes as a survey reveals that six in 10 nurses say they cannot provide the level of care to patients they would like.
The poll by the Royal College of Nursing found barely a quarter thought they were paid enough and three in 10 have suffered physical abuse in the past year.
RCN chief executive Dame Donna Kinnair said: “Our findings show the pressures on staff are becoming so overwhelming we risk losing more nurses from a depleted workforce.”
Mark Dayan, an analyst at The Nuffield Trust, said while the NHS appeared to be relatively efficient, the report “is right to point to low levels of key staff as an underlying concern. Another standing problem is the low level of equipment, with MRI and CT scanner levels the lowest among comparable countries.”