Wednesday 29 May 2019

Why does the NHS cost so much? Why is it always in need of more money? Why are we sicker than ever before? When will the NHS start making us better?

The cost of the UK's NHS has become a constant problem. Expenditure is spiralling out of control. Every year there is an NHS crisis - it cannot cope with patient demand. So each year more money is ploughed it. But regardless of how much additional is spent on the NHS it continues to be in crisis.

Nor is this just a British problem, it is a problem throughout the world, in every country where pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines dominate health services. It is, in other words, a problem throughout the world.

The Department of Health has released statistics about public spending on the NHS from 1948 (its inaugural year) to 2016 under 'Freedom of Information' laws. I have reproduced these statistics below.

One of the key principles of the NHS in 1948 was that it should provide "the best medicine available to everyone". There was an expectation that whilst this would be an expensive service in the early years (those following a crippling World War) health expenditure would soon reach a plateau, and that thereafter costs would gradually reduce.

This was not an unreasonable assumption. It was expected that there would be a back-log of ill-health and sickness to deal with, but if the NHS provided the "best medicine available for everyone" this would soon ensure that sick people got better, and once well they would be a reducing charge on the NHS.

The figures provided by the Department of Health shows that this optimism has never materialised.

The annual figures, and related graphs, are reproduced below. They show how the cost of the NHS has risen dramatically, astronomically year by year.

  • In 1948 spending on the NHS was 0.08% of gross national product. In 2016 is was 7.2%
  • In 1948 spending on the NHS per person was £5.20. In 2016 it was £2,138.40

The graphs and figures demonstrates that the NHS has failed. And the reason for its failure has been that it has chosen to invest all its resources into one kind of medicine, conventional medicine, dominated as it is by pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines. These have not only fail to make us better, they are making us sicker. And the sicker we have become the more demand is placed on NHS services, and the more demands made for additional money. It has become a vicious, spiralling circle

These government statistics do not lie. My E-Book, "The Failure of Conventional Medicine" seeks to explain this failure in more detail, and why it is that we continue to demand more and more money for the NHS. The figures show that spending more money on the NHS is throwing more good money after bad.

They should be read keeping in mind the epidemic rise of chronic diseases, like cancer, dementia, autism, arthritis, diabetes, etc., during these same years.


NHS Spending - real terms (2015-2016 prices)





NHS Spending, Population and GDP 1948 - 2016
Year
Population (millions)
NHS Spending £bn
GDP £bn
Spending as % of GDP
Spending per person
% Population increase
% NHS Spending increase
% GDP increase
1948
49.659
0.26
345.31
0.08%
£5.24



1949
49.868
0.30
356.98
0.08%
£6.02
0.4%
15.4%
3.4%
1950
50.079
0.35
368.80
0.09%
£6.99
0.4%
16.7%
3.3%
1951
50.290
0.50
382.58
0.13%
£9.94
0.4%
42.9%
3.7%
1952
50.536
0.51
388.70
0.13%
£10.09
0.5%
2.0%
1.6%
1953
50.784
0.53
410.13
0.13%
£10.44
0.5%
3.9%
5.5%
1954
51.032
0.54
427.78
0.13%
£10.58
0.5%
1.9%
4.3%
1955
51.282
0.59
444.12
0.13%
£11.51
0.5%
9.3%
3.8%
1956
51.533
0.64
451.34
0.14%
£12.42
0.5%
8.5%
1.6%
1957
51.785
0.70
459.96
0.15%
£13.52
0.5%
9.4%
1.9%
1958
52.039
0.74
465.82
0.16%
£14.22
0.5%
5.7%
1.3%
1959
52.294
0.80
484.98
0.16%
£15.30
0.5%
8.1%
4.1%
1960
52.550
0.87
515.37
0.17%
£16.56
0.5%
8.7%
6.3%
1961
52.807
0.99
529.15
0.19%
£18.75
0.5%
13.8%
2.7%
1962
53.111
1.00
534.99
0.19%
£18.83
0.6%
1.0%
1.1%
1963
53.417
1.07
561.06
0.19%
£20.03
0.6%
7.0%
4.9%
1964
53.725
1.16
592.13
0.20%
£21.59
0.6%
8.4%
5.5%
1965
54.034
1.31
604.80
0.22%
£24.24
0.6%
12.9%
2.1%
1966
54.345
1.44
614.31
0.23%
£26.50
0.6%
9.9%
1.6%
1967
54.658
1.60
631.43
0.25%
£29.27
0.6%
11.1%
2.8%
1968
54.973
1.73
665.78
0.26%
£31.47
0.6%
8.1%
5.4%
1969
55.289
1.81
678.59
0.27%
£32.74
0.6%
4.6%
1.9%
1970
55.608
2.08
696.97
0.30%
£37.40
0.6%
14.9%
2.7%
1971
55.928
2.36
721.26
0.33%
£42.20
0.6%
13.5%
3.5%
1972
55.970
2.66
752.28
0.35%
£47.53
0.1%
12.7%
4.3%
1973
56.013
3.02
801.25
0.38%
£53.92
0.1%
13.5%
6.5%
1974
56.055
3.94
781.51
0.50%
£70.29
0.1%
30.5%
-2.5%
1975
56.097
5.27
769.95
0.68%
£93.94
0.1%
33.8%
-1.5%
1976
56.140
6.22
792.36
0.79%
£110.79
0.1%
18.0%
2.9%
1977
56.182
6.91
811.71
0.85%
£122.99
0.1%
11.1%
2.4%
1978
56.225
7.89
845.82
0.93%
£140.33
0.1%
14.2%
4.2%
1979
56.267
9.10
877.47
1.04%
£161.73
0.1%
15.3%
3.7%
1980
56.310
11.79
859.67
1.37%
£209.38
0.1%
29.6%
-2.0%
1981
56.358
13.42
853.05
1.57%
£238.12
0.1%
13.8%
-0.8%
1982
56.465
14.38
870.20
1.65%
£254.67
0.2%
7.2%
2.0%
1983
56.572
14.50
906.94
1.60%
£256.31
0.2%
0.8%
4.2%
1984
56.680
15.40
927.58
1.66%
£271.70
0.2%
6.2%
2.3%
1985
56.788
16.50
966.50
1.71%
£290.55
0.2%
7.1%
4.2%
1986
56.896
17.50
996.69
1.76%
£307.58
0.2%
6.1%
3.1%
1987
57.004
18.70
1,049.58
1.78%
£328.05
0.2%
6.9%
5.3%
1988
57.112
20.50
1,109.91
1.85%
£358.94
0.2%
9.6%
5.7%
1989
57.221
22.60
1,138.43
1.99%
£394.96
0.2%
10.2%
2.6%
1990
57.330
24.50
1,146.76
2.14%
£427.35
0.2%
8.4%
0.7%
1991
57.439
27.50
1,134.30
2.42%
£478.77
0.2%
12.2%
-1.1%
1992
57.604
31.20
1,138.54
2.74%
£541.63
0.3%
13.5%
0.4%
1993
57.770
35.02
1,167.31
3.00%
£606.20
0.3%
12.2%
2.5%
1994
57.936
37.01
1,212.60
3.05%
£638.81
0.3%
5.7%
3.9%
1995
58.103
40.49
1,242.55
3.26%
£696.87
0.3%
9.4%
2.5%
1996
58.270
39.66
1,274.09
3.11%
£680.62
0.3%
-2.0%
2.5%
1997
58.438
41.34
1,325.54
3.12%
£707.42
0.3%
4.2%
4.0%
1998
58.606
43.15
1,367.14
3.16%
£736.27
0.3%
4.4%
3.1%
1999
58.775
47.02
1,411.11
3.33%
£800.00
0.3%
9.0%
3.2%
2000
58.944
49.57
1,462.82
3.39%
£840.97
0.3%
5.4%
3.7%
2001
59.114
54.34
1,500.03
3.62%
£919.24
0.3%
9.6%
2.5%
2002
59.455
59.93
1,536.90
3.90%
£1,007.99
0.6%
10.3%
2.5%
2003
59.799
66.20
1,588.02
4.17%
£1,107.04
0.6%
10.5%
3.3%
2004
60.145
74.92
1,625.57
4.61%
£1,245.66
0.6%
13.2%
2.4%
2005
60.493
82.93
1,675.90
4.95%
£1,370.90
0.6%
10.7%
3.1%
2006
60.843
89.58
1,717.06
5.22%
£1,472.31
0.6%
8.0%
2.5%
2007
61.194
94.69
1,757.52
5.39%
£1,547.37
0.6%
5.7%
2.4%
2008
61.548
102.34
1,749.22
5.85%
£1,662.77
0.6%
8.1%
-0.5%
2009
61.904
108.75
1,675.96
6.49%
£1,756.75
0.6%
6.3%
-4.2%
2010
62.262
116.92
1,704.36
6.86%
£1,877.87
0.6%
7.5%
1.7%
2011
62.649
119.83
1,729.12
6.93%
£1,912.72
0.6%
2.5%
1.5%
2012
63.067
121.25
1,754.74
6.91%
£1,922.56
0.7%
1.2%
1.5%
2013
63.488
124.30
1,790.75
6.94%
£1,957.85
0.7%
2.5%
2.1%
2014
63.912
129.39
1,845.44
7.01%
£2,024.50
0.7%
4.1%
3.1%
2015
64.338
134.05
1,888.74
7.10%
£2,083.53
0.7%
3.6%
2.3%
2016
64.768
138.50
1,922.63
7.20%
£2,138.40
0.7%
3.3%
1.8%
Increase
15.109
138.24
1,577.32











NB. 2002
Increase 

%
30.43%
53,169.23%
456.78%
9567.36%
40842.65%

via NI








Contribution



















 Pop. Incr. from 1948-2016 - 15,109Million people -  30.4%



NHS Spend Incr.from 1948-2016 £138.24Bn - 53169.2%.



Increase in GDP from1948-2016 - £1577.32Bn - 456.78%



Increase Spend Individual 1948-2016 - 40842.6%












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/spending_chart_1940_2000UKb_17c1li111mcn_10t