UK spending less on health care infrastructure

New research has found that the UK is investing significantly less in health care capital as a share of GDP compared to most other similar countries.

The Health Foundation says that the smaller spend on health care capital, which includes buildings, equipment and IT, has meant that the total value of capital in health care in the UK has fallen, with the value of capital per health care worker in the UK dropping by 35 per cent between 2000 and 2017.

Of the countries analysed in the study, the value of capital per health care worker in the UK is the second lowest, above Greece, and only just over half the average value.

While the Department of Health and Social Care has outlined a vision for a world-leading, tech-driven NHS, the UK was found to have the lowest value of machinery and equipment per health care worker. In 2017, the UK put just 36 per cent of its total spending towards this area of investment compared to an average of 48 per cent in the other countries.

The concern is perhaps highlighted best in cancer spend. While the UK currently lags behind other countries for cancer survival, it has not invested adequately in new equipment such as CT and MRI scanners, and now has the lowest number of both CT and MRI scanners per capita among comparable countries – less than a third of those in Germany.

Anita Charlesworth, director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation, said: “Health care capital investment has been in the spotlight recently with high-profile announcements of funding towards upgrading hospitals which the government has said will transform the NHS. While this is very much needed following years of underinvestment in the NHS’s crumbling infrastructure, the reality is that this money will barely touch the sides.

“Our analysis shows the UK is trailing a long way behind our European neighbours in terms of the resources that enable doctors and nurses to deliver high quality, modern health care. Whether this results in hospital wards with leaks and broken windows, outdated IT or not having enough scanners to detect cancers earlier, this lack of investment ultimately threatens standards of care and patient safety.”