A typical day in the NHS (and how much it costs)

A typical day in the NHS (and how much it costs)

The NHS is big, really big.

“Space [or the NHS!] is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to space.

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979)

It started in 1948, and now employs over 1.5 million people. This makes it the biggest employer in the UK, in Europe, and 5th biggest in the World. But ..

On an average day in the NHS ..

• More than 1.6 million people go to a pharmacist
• More than 1 million people attend a GP appointment
• More than 250,000 people attend a hospital outpatient appointment
• Nearly 45,000 people are assessed in A&E majors (and about 25 per cent of those patients are admitted into hospital)
• About 12,000 emergency admissions occur
• More than 30,000 people call an ambulance via 999
• About 10,000 operations are done (in England)
• About 1800 babies are born
• Around 750 patients go into intensive care.

How much does it cost?

• About £180 billion per year at present; £192 billion in 2020-21 (increased by COVID-19)
• With a population of 67 million, that is about £2700 each
• This is 10% of GDP (your hard earnt taxes, which is in line with other developed countries)
• 47% of that pays for staff

Who runs it?

• No one. Well, no one person or organisation
• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) thinks it does (nationally)
• But healthcare is devolved in the UK, so the 4 nations have their own ‘NHSs’. In NHS England, there are 3 levels of administration:
  • Regional: 7 Regions
  • Subregional: 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). These formed out of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in 2021-22 (in turn, developed out of ‘PCT/PCGs’, and ‘District/Area Health Authorities” before that)
  • Local: 219 ‘Trusts’ (in 2021). Each can have several hospitals. No one knows exact number of hospitals (or beds)

Summary

So. That’s it. A typical day in the NHS (and how much it costs). Amazing aint it?

Other resources

House of Commons library here
This is a good King’s Fund video. This is another good video.