Assignment Sample on PSR4100 Health Economics
Introduction
With the increasing epidemiological consequences, the health care system of the UK is facing challenges in resource scarcity along with the cost pressure and enhancing demand for the facilities and services. There is an overlapping relation among the scarcity, demand and supply of different factors and HNA analysis helps to identify these factors that are enhancing demands that the existing health care system cannot meet. This module is going to reflect the evidential factors in the resource scarcity in the health care sectors of the UK through HNA analysis, PESTLE analysis and SWOT analysis.
Demand analysis with HNA
There are mainly three dimensions of HNA that will help in analysing the demand and scarcity for the resources. These dimensions are epidemiological, comparative and corporate.
Epidemiological HNA: There are different incidences in the UK that are increasingly framing issues in the Public Health Issues. The increased use of the internet has enhanced health problems among the youth population of the UK at a higher rate. The consumption of marijuana at below the age of 18 in driving drug impairment concerns (Drennan and Ross, 2019). Trauma, anxiety factors due to abuse increased stress are enhancing suicide rate that is creating focus on the prevention factors, moreover, gang violence, childhood obesity, gun violence, infertility, high level of soda and alcohol consumption and hate crimes are increasingly creating major mental and physical health issues that are further enhancing the demand for health care resources like treatment cost, hospital beds, staff, medicine, physicians and technological equipments.
Comparative HNA: From the document analysis method, it has been extracted that there is a critical crisis in the emergency room care in the NHS hospitals as per the data of 2020. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the GDP rate of the UK has fallen, leading to less investment in the health care sector. According to the data, the UK government has spent less than 10% of the total GDP rate while the investment of the US was nearly 18%, in Germany the health care expenditure was 11.3% and in France, Japan and Canada was 11.0%, 10.9% and 10.6% (Cohen, and van der Meulen Rodgers, 2020). This indicates the comparative lower expenditure in the health care sector that has risen the demand.
Corporate HNA: According to the healthcare staff and stakeholders, the majority of the NHS funding is generated from the general taxes and national insurances. 79.4% of the funding is extracted from national insurances while only 20% of the resources come from the insurances and medical policies (Knapp and Wong, 2020). Moreover, according to the 2018-19 reports, 6700 places were vacant for the medical degree reflecting the shortage of efficient staff and physicians.
Strategic analysis of the requirement through the analysis of the Health sectors
PESTLE analysis
| Political | ● The present UK politics is one of the biggest questions. The decision of the United Kingdom to leave the EU is about to have a widespread impact on society, and that involves public institutions like NHS. Numerous articles have been produced summarising how Brexit can affect the NHS, but there is nothing to be sure about yet. For instance, there is unpredictability surrounding how equipment and medication coming from the European Union will be carried in the UK. Maybe a more severe problem is about staffing with a huge number of professionals in the health care initially from the rest of the European countries. There remain concerns that the workforce of NHS might be satisfying if the results of Brexit are in less favourable or stricter living situations for foreigners. |
| Economic | ● Under the OECD or Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s new clarity of health spending, the spending of the UK is 9.7% of GDP or Gross Domestic Product on health care. This is regarding the average for the countries basket in this report (Robertson, 2021). The UK possess a similar extent of health spending as a percentage of GDP to Australia and Austria but comes behind the rest of the countries with high income in the basket such as Sweden, France and Germany that spends more of their GDP or 11% on health care. |
| Social | ● A general phenomenon around the world is that the ageing population keeps on growing. The average age of the UK’s population is accelerating as healthcare is improving. Even though it is a positive aspect, an older population is inclined to possess more health issues. Situations like various types of cancers and diabetes are inclined to grow in the later life stages and can be very expensive to manage and treat. As an outcome, the ageing population of the UK is positioning additional pressure on the NHS. |
| Technological | ● Modern medical technology needs huge investment as it is important for improving the treatment and diagnosis of disease and is connected with improved efficiency and cost savings in the provision of health care (Motonaga et al. 2021). In spite of the huge range of technologies that are available, comparative international data remains restricted to a small variety of medical technologies for imaging such as CT or computed tomography and MRI or magnetic resonance imaging scanners. The UK’s data only involves CT and MRI units in the public sector, thus, these comparisons have to be treated with specific caution. |
| Legal | ● An increasing trend around the world is about litigation in every type of situation. However, patients who are not satisfied with the health care quality are acquiring courts to get retribution. The UK has observed an increasing number of lawsuits related to health care. |
| Environmental | ● One of the major sectors that are responsible for producing huge amounts of toxic wastes is the medical sector. There has been heavy pressure upon the medical organisations in the UK as it has been contributing to the present climatic crisis. These medical organisations in the UK are under fire from many activities of the environmental organisations. |
SWOT analysis
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| ● Strong history of development and research
● Well established governance mechanisms (Bhaduri, 2021). ● A committed and engaged workforce ● Keeping a record of using transformational change
● Consistent service performance and delivery (Benzaghta et al. 2021). ● An increasing number of medical students |
● The level of bed occupancy is high
● The number of emergency activities is also increasing ● Issues of retaining and recruiting staff (Pote, et al 2021). ● Financial deficit ● Requires improvement in outpatients processes, systems and environment ● High agency costs of staffing ● Too high a ratio of non-elective activity to the elective one |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| ● Can increase service carer, user and public involvement
● System-wide transformation plan ● Develop main strength of giving high health care service quality ● Elevating elective referrals (De Val et al. 2021). ● Opportunities of income from private patients |
● Market loss due to alternative providers
● The unpredictability of the national economy (Singh, 2021). ● The structure of new ownership for NHS property |
Strengths
From the above SWOT analysis, the strengths of UK health care can be observed. It has a strong history of development and research. It has a well-established governance mechanism. It consists of a committed and engaged workforce. It keeps a record of using transformational change to enhance both financial and clinical performance. It provides consistent service performance and delivery. The number of medical students is also increasing.
Weaknesses
The above SWOT analysis about UK health care shows its weaknesses. In the UK, the level of bed occupancy is high. In UK hospitals, the number of emergency activities is also increasing. There are issues of retaining and recruiting staff, financial deficit and it requires improvement in outpatients processes, systems and environment. The costs of a staffing agency are high. There is a very high ratio of non-elective activity to elective one.
Opportunities
The Opportunities of UK health care can be increasing service carer, user and public involvement, a system-wide transformation plan, developing main strength of giving high health care service quality, elevating elective referrals and opportunities of income from private patients.
Threats
The threats of UK health care can be market loss due to alternative providers, the unpredictability of the national economy and the structure of new ownership for NHS property.
Impact of scarcity in health care resources
According to the analysis it can be stated that the scarcity in the funding, human and technological resources in the UK is creating a shortage in the supply of treatment. The shortage in the epidemiological drivers are increasingly driving the demand for health care services on the other hand the resource scarcity in the healthcare sectors are leading to critical health problems, out-of-the pocket expenditure rate (Nyashanu, Pfende and Ekpenyong, 2020). Moreover, the population from the lower and lower middle class society are not able to access the health services. Thus the supply and demand issue fails to meet the requirements and thus competition among the patients has been increased at a higher rate that is further leading behavioural changes among the population, health care staff and patients.
Conclusion
This assessment has provided HNA, PESTEL and SWOT analysis regarding the scarcity within the health care sector in the UK. The UK is considered to be one of the most limited health care systems around the world. It spends comparatively less on its medicines than many other countries. Yet, it is one of the most efficient health care systems in the world that has adopted medicines which is generic and cheaper because they are obtainable. It still lacks in many aspects as compared to many other countries.
Reference List
Benzaghta, M.A., Elwalda, A., Mousa, M.M., Erkan, I. and Rahman, M., 2021. SWOT analysis applications: An integrative literature review. Journal of Global Business Insights, 6(1), pp.54-72.
Bhaduri, S.D., 2021. United Kingdom (England): Health Care System Overview and SWOT Analysis. The Indian Practitioner, 74(2), pp.32-35.
Cohen, J. and van der Meulen Rodgers, Y., 2020. Contributing factors to personal protective equipment shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventive medicine, p.106263.
De Val, J., Sohal, G., Sarwar, A., Ahmed, H., Singh, I. and Coleman, J.J., 2021. Investigating the challenges and opportunities for medicines management in an NHS field hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 28(1), pp.10-15.
Drennan, V.M. and Ross, F., 2019. Global nurse shortages: The facts, the impact and action for change. British medical bulletin, 130(1), pp.25-37.
Knapp, M. and Wong, G., 2020. Economics and mental health: the current scenario. World Psychiatry, 19(1), pp.3-14.
Motonaga, M., Watanabe, H., Tayama, Y., Shimizu, R., Sanoh, S., Kotake, Y., Kitamura, S., Ohta, S. and Sugihara, K., 2021. Comparison of the Components of Three Types of Miso (Fermented Soybean Paste) by 1H NMR Metabolomic Analysis. BPB Reports, 4(5), pp.148-154.
Nyashanu, M., Pfende, F. and Ekpenyong, M., 2020. Exploring the challenges faced by frontline workers in health and social care amid the COVID-19 pandemic: experiences of frontline workers in the English Midlands region, UK. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(5), pp.655-661.
Pote, H., Rees, A., Holloway-Biddle, C. and Griffith, E., 2021. Workforce challenges in digital health implementation: How are clinical psychology training programmes developing digital competences?. Digital Health, 7, p.2055207620985396.
Robertson, D., 2021. Prescribing issues in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Prescribing Practice, 3(3), pp.102-103.
Singh, A.K., 2021. Epidemiology, Structure and Disease Burden of SARS-CoV-2 in Different States of India Using SWOT Analysis. Sch J App Med Sci, 3, pp.312-321.
