Is the NHS the worst health service in the West? Cancer, heart attack and stroke patients 'far more likely to die,' says damning report

• UK's health service one of the worst in the Western world, report warns
• Patients far more likely to die than those in Norway, US and Canada
• Those with asthma and diabetes admitted to A&E needlessly
• UK has a 'mountain to climb' before standards catch up with other nations 

By Sophie Borland for the Daily Mail

Published: 03:06 EST, 3 July 2015 | Updated: 04:36 EST, 3 July 2015

The UK's health service is one of the worst in the Western world for treating cancer, heart attacks and strokes, a report warns.

Although care has improved in the last decade, patients here are still far more likely to die than those in Norway, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

Furthermore, patients with long-term illnesses are suffering worse care by GPs and nurses at home compared to other countries.

Many more patients with asthma, diabetes and chronic lung conditions are being admitted to A&E needlessly than elsewhere in the developed world.

The NHS is among the worst health services in the Western world, a damning new report warns. It reveals that the UK has the lowest survival rates rates for heart attacks, death rates for strokes in the UK are the second worst and breast cancer survival rates are also amongst the lowest

The joint report by the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation concludes that the UK still has a 'mountain to climb' before overall standards of care catch up with other countries.

It also points out that the NHS spends far less money on its patients than the health systems of other countries and this may partly explain why survival rates are lower.

In England, the NHS spends an average of £1,912 per head compared to an average of £2,800 for 27 other countries and £4,700 in the US.

But experts from the think-tanks also draw attention to care and services in which the UK is doing well, including vaccinating the elderly against flu and reducing prescriptions of antibiotics, which are fuelling superbugs.

Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust said: 'It is clear from this analysis that the UK can and should do better.

'Our poor performance on cancer survival compared with other leading countries is well-known and continues to be a concern.

'It is also worrying that a UK citizen appears to have a significantly lower chance of surviving a heart attack than a Scandinavian one.

'We enter the new Parliament with a mountain to climb in reducing preventable hospital admissions and improving survival from common killer diseases, all at a time of continuing austerity affecting public services.'

The report compared data from 27 countries in the Western world on cancer survival, death rates from heart attacks and strokes, prescriptions and hospital admissions.

The report by the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation concludes that the UK still has a 'mountain to climb' before overall standards of care catch up with other countries

It shows that the UK has the lowest survival rates rates for heart attacks and 10 per cent of patients die within a month of leaving hospital compared to just 8 per cent in Norway.

Death rates for strokes in the UK are the second worst and 15 per cent of patients die a month out of leaving hospital compared to 11 per cent in Sweden.

Breast cancer survival rates are also amongst the lowest and 82 per cent of women live at least five years compared to 89 per cent in the US and 87 per cent in Sweden.

Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation said: 'There are obvious areas where the UK lags behind other countries - survival from breast, bowel and cervical cancer and survival after a heart attack.

'To make progress, we need much more probing as to why, and what we can learn from how care is organised in other countries.'

A Department of Health spokesman pointed out that unlike in many other countries, the NHS offered free healthcare to all patients regardless of whether they had health insurance.

They added: 'This report shows we've made significant progress in quality across the board.

'The NHS is already perhaps the most equitable system globally, and we are now focusing on tackling preventable conditions like obesity and type two diabetes.'