- 60,000 Britons are condemned to an early death every year by NHS
- UK performs worse than most other European countries, even Slovenia
- Britain’s figures were worse than all but Ireland, Greece and Malta
Charlie Haynes And Stephen Adams For Mail On Sunday
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More than 60,000 Britons are condemned to an early death every year because of failings by the NHS and other public health bodies, a damning new report reveals.
The shocking findings show that the UK performs worse than almost every other nation in Western Europe – and even former Soviet states such as Slovenia – at keeping alive patients aged under 75.
Just over a third of the 185,500 Britons in that age group who died in 2013 did so needlessly, according to a report comparing all 28 nations in the European Union.
The report says a third of the 185,500 Britons under 75 who died in 2013 did so needlessly due to failings by the NHS or other public health bodies
These 63,442 deaths ‘could have been avoided in the light of medical knowledge and technology’, according to experts at Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. In France, just under a quarter of deaths before the age of 75 were ‘avoidable’.
The appalling gulf highlighted Britain’s ‘patchy’ record at fighting cancer and other major killers, a leading oncologist said last night.Professor Karol Sikora warned: ‘The NHS lacks enough capacity when it comes to diagnosing cancer and other serious diseases quickly.
‘Access to your GP, prompt access to hospitals for tests like CT scans – these are things we just don’t do well enough compared to other Western European countries. If you have a symptom of something that might be cancer, on the Continent it gets investigated in a week. Here it can take months. It’s just too slow. Such delays can mean the difference between life and death.’
Prof Sikora, Dean of Medicine at Buckingham University, added: ‘The problem is that across the UK you can get very high-quality care and very poor patches of care.’ Too often patients needed ‘sharp elbows’ to get tests and treatment.
Surgeons performing cardiac surgery at a hospital in Greece, which is one of only three countries whose figures were worse than the UK
Numerous reports have shown that cancer patients in Britain tend to die sooner than those in comparable countries. In 2013 a study found that Britain’s five-year survival rates lagged the European average in nine of the ten most common cancers.
However, the new report suggests cardiovascular disease is an even bigger cause of avoidable early deaths in the UK. Almost half – just over 30,000 – were due to heart disease and strokes. In France, with a similarly sized population, there were just 15,000.
Britain came only 16th out of 28 EU countries when ranked on avoiding ‘amenable deaths’ before 75, meaning those that were potentially preventable given effective and timely health care.
Britain’s figures were worse than every other Western European country bar Ireland (34.6 per cent), Greece (37.1) and Malta (42).
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Besides France, other countries that performed better include Denmark (27.1), Belgium (27.5), the Netherlands (29.1), Spain (31.3), Germany (31.4), Poland (31.4) and even Slovenia (33.1). The EU average was 33.2 per cent.
Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust health think-tank, said part of the problem was Britain’s high prevalence of coronary heart disease and obesity. The early diagnosis of cancer was also hampered by our ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude towards disease.
The Department of Health said: ‘Life expectancy is at a record high and the latest data shows that avoidable deaths under 75 have fallen by 6.5 per cent since 2010.
‘Campaigns such as One You and free health checks help reduce people’s risk of heart disease and stroke.’
FRENCH DOCTORS SAVED MY LIFE…TWICE
Brian Thomas and his wife Margaret
A British expat in France who had cancer says its health system saved his life – but fears he would have died under the NHS.
Brian Thomas, aged 69, has been diagnosed with two types of cancer in the past six years.
Speedy tests and treatment – and an attitude that put patients first – helped boost his chances of recovery, he believes.
The former civil servant and his wife Margaret retired in 2007 to the pretty town of Carcassonne in the South of France to be near their daughter Rachel.
In 2010 he collapsed and his GP ran blood tests, X-rays and scans. Within days he was referred to a gastroenterologist, who recommended a colonoscopy. This revealed bowel cancer. He promptly had surgery and was put on a six-month course of chemotherapy.
His GP recommended three-monthly blood tests and early in 2012 one showed indications of prostate cancer.
Mr Thomas said: ‘Had I stayed in England and been treated on the NHS, I think my chances of survival would have been lower. I don’t think I would have been as well looked after.’
Mr Thomas is now a volunteer with Cancer Support France.
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