Apparently the United Kingdom has some of the worst rates of cancer survival in Europe, significantly worse than others spending a similar amount. For ovarian cancer 30% survive in the UK whereas 43% survive in countries like Austria. This difference has not been overcome by the NHS cancer plan, launched in 2000. Listen to the study being discussed on the Today programme this morning (Real Audio). The reasons given are shortfalls in radiotherapy and scanning capacity.
By contrast, in the United States - so often held up as a nightmare by those opposed to more private sector involvement in healthcare - rates are better than in Europe.
"Europe’s survival rates are lower than in the US, where 66.3 per cent of men
and 62.9 per cent of women survive for five years, compared with 47.3 per
cent of European men and 55.8 per cent of women. These figures may represent
earlier diagnosis."
There is a more comprehensive table of relative rates of survival in this Telegraph article. Yet more evidence of the continued failure of political management of the British healthcare system.