National Health Service in the uk

The National Health Service (NHS) is the collective name given

to the four public health services of England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland.

Before the National Health Service was created in 1948, patients were generally required to pay for their health care. Free treatment had been sometimes available from teaching hospitals and charity hos­pitals.

In 1911 the National Insurance Act granted all workers of 16 years or over free medical coverage as well as unemployment benefits. In 1948 the system was extended to the entire population and a new ser­vice, the National Health Service was established. Today it is the world’s largest publicly funded health service. It was set up on July 1948 to “provide health care for all citizens, based on need, not the ability to pay”. It is funded by the taxpayer and managed by a govern­ment department, the Department of Health, which sets overall policy on health issues.

The core of service is the General Practitioners (GP or family doctors) who are responsible for the care of patients registered with them. GPs are mostly private doctors that choose to contract with the NHS to provide services to patients. Patients are free to register with any GP of their choice in their locality. Patients in England of work­ing age pay a fixed price (presently £ 7.30) for each drug prescribed regardless of the amount of drug prescribed or the cost to the phar­macy. The pharmacy invoices the cost of the drugs to the NHS. GPs can refer their patients to a hospital for more specialized services and for surgery. GP referrals are needed to see any hospital specialist. Most patients choose to be treated at NHS hospitals. The quality is comparable to private hospitals and the services obtained (medicines, surgeons and other care workers, and even meals) are free of charge to the patient, whereas at private hospitals they pay for these.

Ambulance services, mental health, and ancillary services such as physical and occupational therapy, in-home and in-clinic nursing, and certain care for the sick elderly in nursing homes are financed from the NHS budget. The estimated cost of the English NHS in 2009 was £ 98.7 billion or about £ 165 per person per month. Funding for the NHS is met from tax and National Insurance contributions paid by all persons over the age of 18 and employers in the UK. Temporary residents such as tourists are only entitled to free emergency care.

In England, patients under 16 years old (19 years if still in full­time education) or over 59 years will get the drug for free. There are also exemptions for people with certain medical conditions, and those on low incomes. Prescribed contraception is also issued free of charge.

The National Health Service Act 1946 came into effect on 5 July 1948. Since that time the NHS provides the majority of healthcare in

England, including primary care, in-patient care, long-term health­care, ophthalmology and dentistry. Private health care has continued parallel to the NHS, paid for largely by private insurance, but it is used by less than 8 % of the population, and generally as a top-up to NHS services. One of the main aims of the NHS is to respect the confidentiality of individual patients and provide open access to infor­mation about services.

Language Development

j I ) Match the English word combinations with the Ukrainian ones and use (hem in sentences of your own.

1 free medical coverage	а державне фінансування
2 unemployment benefits	Ь низькі прибутки
3 publicly funded	с відкритий доступ
4 fixed price	сі пільги, що надаються безробітним
5 patient’s contribution	е безкоштовна медицина
6 ambulance services	і вартість медичної допомоги
7 occupational diseases	й внесок пацієнта
8 healthcare costs	Ь професійні захворювання
9 free of charge	і фіксована (стала) вартість
10 low incomes	] швидка допомога
11 open access	к безкоштовно