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The world’s health market went through some serious challenges in the past years, from Covid’s unbearable demand to the shortage of healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, patients were most affected by the market turmoil, leading to inaccurate diagnoses and unsafe clinical facilities. As we can all assume, insufficient funds are always the problem.
But what happens when people cannot afford medical services anymore? Is the world slowly going after the American healthcare system, where multiple brands and the rising drug costs are affecting people’s life quality?
Maybe this is not an appealing scenario for now, but what’s for sure is that European free healthcare is starting to become expensive as well, especially since insurance providers are continuously changing their terms. In the UK, for example, the health insurance market has boomed due to people’s concerns about the accessibility of public healthcare, according to Statista. So, what does that mean for the regular citizen?
British people seeking more private medical treatment
Since the pandemic, the costs of medical insurance have increased significantly as most citizens have become more concerned about their wellbeing. The NHS list has boomed, recording as many as 7.5 million people who have been waiting for more than a year to be admitted to a public insurance program.
Regrettably, this means people have to pay for almost any medical emergency or need from their pockets and choose medical professionals on their own. This doesn’t always ensure they’re taken care of properly, especially when they’re going to doctors charging as little as possible, who may not be licensed or well-prepared. In many cases, this can lead to a medical negligence case, whether due to misdiagnosis or delayed treatment. If this happens, people can gather evidence and reach out to Gary Matthews GM Solicitors, who provides legal guidance and representation for patients to receive financial compensation and overcome the negative impact on their wellbeing.
The NHS is slowly falling apart
The National Health Service was once considered one of the best and most trustworthy, but many believe it to have changed dramatically in the past few years. Patients were waiting well over 12 hours for emergency admission and more than an hour for complicated problems like strokes, which is unacceptable and inefficient for treating people adequately.
The medical staff has made numerous strikes over the recent years as their salaries wouldn’t make up for the consistent effort of almost continuous work. In addition, people had to start paying significant taxes to benefit from the free healthcare program, but that didn’t mean they could still access it like before.
On the other hand, the NHS is believed to have reached this point due to more than a decade of underfunding, especially for buildings and equipment, where capital expenditure was declining slowly but steadily. Hospital beds are scarce, and MRI and CRT scanners are not meeting the demand, so the system is slowly collapsing.
The government advised people to avoid risky activities
Unfortunately, governments’ lack of mitigation exposes people to further dangerous health conditions. During the pandemic, one of the health ministers stated that people should be careful of what they do to protect their health as they might not guarantee their safety as patients.
Hence, citizens are left with the option of taking private insurance, which can be expensive. On the other hand, those who can’t afford it are simply letting their health rot or make ends meet and get into debt to solve some of their most complex problems.
Although, according to the Office for National Statistics, the majority of the British population considers itself to be in very good health, some of the most common health problems encountered include the following:
- Allergies, high blood pressure, low back disorder, and depression;
- 8% of men and 4.7% of women drink alcohol every day;
- 9% men and 29.3% women are overweight;
- 7% of men and 50.1% of women have a long-standing health issue;
Lifestyle choices are detrimental to British people’s health
While access to healthcare is imperious and can assess people’s wellbeing, the truth is that some lifestyle mistakes can trigger health issues. Unfortunately, the cost of living crisis pushes people towards eating less healthily as processed foods tend to be cheaper. Many people cut back on organic ingredients or protein as they would increase their food bills.
Therefore, people now choose the supermarkets they shop at because of the lower prices. On the other hand, citizens are trying to mind what they eat as they can’t afford to get sick. They are getting better at planning meals to eliminate waste or leveraging artificial intelligence tools to create an ideal recipe from fewer ingredients.
More premature deaths to occur
The BMJ Public Health journal researched the conflict between the cost of living crisis and the end user. It concluded that the relationship would most likely cause an increasing number of premature deaths by 6.5% in 2024. Households in deprived areas are the most affected by the situation since elders in these places might pass away before reaching 75.
The leading cause of the study was inflation and how it affected people’s life expectancy rates. Indeed, worldwide events triggered inflation to reach its highest since the 70s, at 11.1%, depending on the inequalities between the poor and the rich. The study also got to the idea that even with government support and low inflation, low-income households will still struggle to make ends meet. In addition, this audience segment is prone to poorer health, meaning they’ll need advanced medication and assistance but won’t be able to afford it.
What do you think about the UK’s health system?
The pandemic and continuous global conflicts are directly affecting every country in the world, including the UK. The consistent troubles are leading to the rise in living costs, which makes it more challenging for people to receive proper medical care. At the same time, medical systems are finding it difficult to provide adequate services while lacking funds, pushing people to choose private medical products.
Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-gray-stethoscope-yo01Z-9HQAw
