Healthcare market in the UK

The healthcare market in the UK can be divided into 3 sub-sections: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. Primary includes initial patient consultations. Job categories in this sector include general physicians. The secondary sector involves the consultation of more specialised practitioners, such as a cardiologist, typically recommended by a primary healthcare physician. The tertiary sector is extremely specialised, e.g., cardiac surgery, where practitioners do very specific work.
Healthcare in the UK plays a large role in the country’s economy.
The United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) classifies healthcare into three different categories:
*hospital activities: care provided in hospital, under any specialisation
*clinical or dental activities
*other human activities, such as laboratories, equipment providers and drug manufacturers
Spending and funding
In the UK the healthcare industry is largely provided for by the National Health Service (NHS). NHS expenditure increased from 64 billion pounds in 2003/04 to 114 billion pounds in 2013/14. Per capita spending rose by over 400 pounds in that period. The majority was for primary healthcare. The government was faced with a deficit of 2.1 billion pounds in the year 2013, because of healthcare. However the percentage of GDP spent on healthcare was significantly lower than that of almost all developed countries. The UK spent only 9.26% on healthcare compared with US spending of 16.09% and 12% in the Netherlands.
Effects
In the UK better healthcare is directly correlated with better standards of living. Healthier people are healthier workers, increasing productivity and ultimately output. NHS employs nearly 150,000 doctors, along with nearly 400,000 nurses and 40,000 management staff.
Patient experience
80% of patients say they were treated with dignity and respect and 76% had trust in the last general practitioner they saw. The NHS was voted the most impressive of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and USA by the Commonwealth Fund in 2014.
Private sector services
Private sector healthcare in the UK is usually accessed either by more prosperous residents or by employees with employer-provided health insurance. The private sector sub-contracts with NHS, resulting in referrals of patients to private healthcare facilities. Private sector healthcare operators also include non-profit trusts and charities offering free services. A higher fraction of tertiary services than primary and secondary services are provided by the private sector.
Medical Tourism
Healthcare facilities in the UK are considered to be at the global forefront, attracting patients from around the world, a phenomenon known as medical tourism. This increases demand for healthcare other tourism-related services. Medical tourists usually access private sector resources as patients usually travel for tertiary sector services.

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