UK spends more on health but comes up short compared with other countries – OECD

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Compared with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, the UK spends a higher than average proportion of GDP on “health system resources” – spending around 11.3% of its GDP on health in 2022. “There is an overwhelming need for the Government to introduce measures that we know will reduce alcohol harm and save lives such as proper controls on alcohol marketing, introducing minimum unit pricing in England like we already have in Scotland and Wales, and clearer alcohol labelling.” Amid the increasing demand for services as a result of the combined effect of population ageing and unhealthy lifestyles, health systems need to facilitate better and timelier access to affordable health care, while addressing the lingering after-effects of Covid-19 on mental and physical health Mathias Cormann, OECD The OECD report also shows there are more obese adults in the UK compared with the OECD average. OECD secretary general Mathias Cormann said: “Amid the increasing demand for services as a result of the combined effect of population ageing and unhealthy lifestyles, health systems need to facilitate better and timelier access to affordable health care, while addressing the lingering after-effects of Covid-19 on mental and physical health.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This report uses data from 2021 and since then we have made significant progress to boost bed numbers and diagnostic capacity. “The report also highlights the UK’s strengths, including significantly reducing deaths from air pollution, achieving high rates of screening for breast and cervical cancer, and vaccinating a high proportion of the elderly against influenza compared to other OECD countries.”