Introduction
England’s medicine and healthcare are among the most efficient, innovative, and advanced in the world, based on the National Health Service (NHS). The NHS works productively and promptly in assisting at the main stages of citizens’ lives. Notably, this system is not at the expense of medical insurance but taxes (Buswell, 2023). However, there is a small private healthcare sector, but people can choose it based on their wishes, preferences, and capabilities (Buswell, 2023). England cares about its citizens, and medical specialists provide not only free but also high-quality care to patients, taking up the treatment of almost all diseases (Thorlby, 2020). This paper studies and analyzes England’s healthcare systems, as well as the health and well-being of citizens.
The Health Care System in England
England is especially responsible for managing and providing good medical services to locals. Healthcare organization in England is founded on the principles and concepts of the NHS, a universal system that operates throughout the United Kingdom. NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary health care services; it is overseen by the Department of Health (Buswell, 2023). The NHS covers the costs of almost everything, from visits to a physician and ending with emergency medical care (Thorlby, 2020). The country’s residents have access to the NHS and free services in connection with clinical needs, not the ability to pay (Anderson et al., 2022). Healthcare systems in England appeal to individualistic principles, for example, by introducing a general practitioner (GP) position. GPs are personal doctors of patients who know everything about their ailments, and GPs are the ones who give referrals to other medics. In addition, there is an opportunity to apply for a private health insurance policy, avoiding a long wait for specialists’ appointments and providing access to better medical equipment.
Generally, England finances its medicine through general taxation, and anyone legally working there can use NHS services. A smaller proportion of the NHS funding comes from national insurance, copayments, and surcharges by clients using NHS services as private patients (Thorlby, 2020). One should mention that the ratio of public financing for health is high, and citizens are protected against several financial consequences of poor health (Anderson et al., 2022). However, legal entities and individuals fund the country’s private healthcare sector.
The fundamental differences between healthcare in England and the USA mainly lie in funding systems, resource allocation, and types of patient care programs. The NHS operates in England, providing citizens with a universal social protection system; taxpayers fund this system. The US has a more complex system connecting private insurance and government subsidy programs that do not provide universal coverage. Access to medical care in England is a right, not a privilege, and most residents receive free, high-quality medical care and support (N.E. Groce, 2020; N. Groce, 2020). On the contrary, in America, the situation is different, and those who cannot afford health insurance delay visits to a doctor and sometimes face dangerous consequences for life.
The Development and Distribution of Health Services
Politics is one of the spheres of human activity, which has an extraordinary impact on medicine in terms of cost and quality. The state of health and life of residents depends on introducing specific legislation. The healthcare system in England has a high degree of political autonomy, and there is no significant regional level (Stewart et al., 2019). English medicine has a complex system and is under the direct jurisdiction of the UK government, which strives to ensure equal access to medical care for all patients (Stewart et al., 2019). Due to the activities of politicians, citizens receive timely, free assistance; they do not have to pay for health insurance like in the United States.
Along with politics, the influence of culture on the development and distribution of medical services is vast. Culture defines methods, tactics, and strategies to meet patients’ needs and aspirations regarding health and well-being. Based on the cultural aspects, the Government of England considers the needs of all people, especially those who find it most difficult to access good services and support. People need to be confident that they will receive the care they need now and in the future.
The country’s wealth significantly affects the health sector and prices for services of a certain quality. England has a developed economy and high GDP indicators, providing care to all citizens through the NHS without forcing people to take out insurance. Physicians’ services are free of charge, as well as medications that do not need to be paid for when receiving a prescription from a doctor. Regardless of income, people have access to medicine, but people with large incomes can seek help from private clinics with the best equipment and get insurance if desired.
Both public health in England and the healthcare systems are based on the country’s history, which specified the current criteria for developing and distributing medical assistance in modern times. Awareness of the critical minuses, shortcomings, and weaknesses of the British healthcare system in the 40s led to the creation of the NHS on July 5, 1948, the main principle of which is accessibility for all people (Brain, 2021). It was a significant moment in the history of medicine in England, and now citizens have broad access to the services of specialists.
One should remember that environmental factors are directly related to medicine and ways to help patients in terms of cost of quality. Air pollution is the biggest threat to residents’ health, and much money is spent on minimizing this risk (GOV.UK, 2023). Thus, the NHS adapts to this circumstance by developing and distributing medical services for everyone and actively promoting equal access to a healthy environment.
The Impact on Vulnerable Population
The NHS in England cares about the health and well-being of locals and provides access to health care for all country residents. For instance, slowing down aging and eliminating health problems in the elderly is an essential goal for the NHS, and medical specialists continue to work towards achieving this purpose (“Improving care for older people,” n.d.). The childcare system in England is at a high level but still not perfect and needs noticeable improvements (Maile et al., 2022). Moreover, according to Ride et al. (2020), England pays special attention to people with mental disorders, but only in terms of the costs of primary care and hospital services, and not services by psychiatrists and psychologists. In addition, there is a concern and a high probability that vulnerable groups have lower access to services than others. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted a vulnerable population of England and has demonstrated many unmet needs of patients (Stevens et al., 2021). These consequences continue today, and the English healthcare system is recommended to take precise measures to eliminate existing shortcomings.
Women’s Health and Maternal Child Health
The NHS in England is concerned about the health of women, mothers, and their children. It is continuously working to develop new and improved programs to strengthen well-being and eliminate undesirable consequences for specific patients. Maternal and child health protection is of particular importance today, requiring special attention since the welfare of society as a whole depends on it. Hence, special centers are being created to conduct high-quality research and implement ideas and initiatives to improve women’s and children’s health and care.
Disease Management
Supervision, management, prevention, and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases in England are manifested mainly through operative measures, adequate treatment appointments, high-quality medical care to all patients, and free vaccines. Prevention and treatment of infectious diseases depend on the types of conditions. For example, it is not customary in England to prescribe medications for acute respiratory diseases, but in critical cases, patients immediately receive emergency qualified care. Accordingly, special attention is paid to the fight against the most dangerous infections like HIV or AIDS, and patients are still treated free of charge. However, the treatment of non-communicable diseases occurs in the initial stages. Early disease detection is one of England’s main parts of the health system program. However, mortality rates in the country are more likely to occur due to NCDs (Knight et al., 2019). Modern treatment of non-communicable diseases requires achievements and new approaches to protecting public health.
Health Promotion
It is important to remark that health promotion in England is a unique empowerment process in choosing healthy habits. This health promotion model aims to help people achieve positive behavioral changes and well-being by providing positive resources, quality care, and assistance. Commonly, the region’s health promotion theory and practice are inextricably linked and based on modern and innovative approaches. The combination of these concepts provides a stable, solid, effective, and efficient basis for maintaining the health and well-being of citizens, and this is due to encouraging medics to help patients with self-management (Dineen-Griffin et al., 2019). Strengthening the population’s health is an opportunity to meet the basic needs of both an individual and to increase the welfare and prosperity of the state. England’s political and economic aspects create a favorable environment and conditions for strengthening public actions and personal skills.
Factors that Affect Health and Illness
Diseases of modern people in England are primarily caused by their lifestyle and everyday behavior. As practice shows, physical activity and proper nutrition are the main factors that affect a person’s well-being and health (Shao et al., 2021). In addition, a healthy lifestyle includes such essential elements as a work and rest regime, eradicating bad habits, optimal activity, personal hygiene, and rational nutrition. It is evident that a healthy lifestyle is the most effective method of ensuring health, primary prevention of diseases, and satisfaction of vital health needs. On the contrary, behavioral and lifestyle factors for developing illnesses and mortality risk often include smoking, unhealthy diet, low physical activity, excessive alcohol consumption, and psychosocial aspects such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Leading such a “bad” way of life by age thirty, people lead their organism into a terrible state and only then think about medicine. Notably, an individual’s behavior and way of life in the health field are related to the medical awareness level. Such gradients in behavior lead to highly unfavorable outcomes at the micro and macro levels. Therefore, England’s public health is continuously working on a strategy for promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Comparison
The healthcare systems of England and the USA have several similarities and differences. Primarily, the development of healthcare is one of the priorities of governments in the US and England. Both English and American medical care is of a high level; clinics have excellent equipment and highly qualified staff. The treatment of populations is carried out with the help of the most advanced technologies. Equipment and medicines are constantly updated, taking into account the world’s scientific developments and research. Nevertheless, the healthcare system in England is mainly focused on eradicating inequality and injustice in getting high-quality and affordable medical care, whereas in the United States, the situation is the opposite (Virk & Holmes, 2022). Two systems offer a wide range of good medical services, but the NHS specializes instead in equity and equality, and American medicine is focused mainly on improving, developing, and modernizing medical care.
Furthermore, in America and England, a person can take out private insurance and get a lot of privileges. However, the medical system in England does not oblige citizens to get insurance. It operates based on the NHS and is free since fees are withheld from taxes. In contrast, medical care in America is implemented mainly through public or private health insurance programs. Insurance is mandatory for all residents of the United States, and its absence threatens penalties. Regardless, treatment without insurance is possible but will be expensive. Every Englishman has access to high-quality healthcare services, whereas only some Americans can afford such a service in their country. In America, bankruptcy cases are common due to exorbitantly high bills issued by a clinic, so it is simply necessary to have health insurance.
Conclusion
In this paper, the healthcare system in England has been successfully studied and analyzed about the health of the country’s citizens. The author of this work concluded that medicine in England is of high quality, effective and accessible. The organization of the healthcare system in the country is entirely controlled by the NHS, which determines methods, procedures, tactics, strategies, norms, practices, and standards regarding patient care. Interestingly, England’s NHS is financed through taxation, and this moment is one of the main differences between English and American medicine. Indeed, the English and American medical management and wellness programs focus on quality medicine through innovations, modern equipment, current care practices, and a correct approach to patients. However, the USA is developing the healthcare sector to a greater extent from the point of view of technology, and England pays attention to equity and equality, providing free assistance and not forcing the purchase of insurance.
Many determinants, directly and indirectly, affect the NHS: politics, culture, wealth, history, and environmental factors. Assisting patients depends on current laws, cultural characteristics of citizens’ perception of medicine, the welfare of the country and its economic potential, events from the past, and, indeed, ecology and the environment. Among the behavioral and lifestyle factors in England, the level of physical activity, the quality and quantity of nutrition, the presence or absence of bad habits, and compliance or non-compliance with hygiene rules should be singled out separately. For the NHS in England, the state of health of all country residents is essential, especially to vulnerable groups of the population, women and their children, for whom different measures of prevention and protection of health are being developed. The NHS in England strives to implement clear actions to reduce the spread of various diseases and infections and takes care of high-quality and free medical support for citizens, fighting both infectious and non-communicable illnesses at initial stages. The theory and practice of health promotion in England appeal to current and modern ways of changing people’s behavior and achieving well-being through the competent allocation of resources, clear recommendations, and adequate care.
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