I recently came across this chart on stroke mortality. Source: OECD Health at a Glance 2023. It is quite stunning and seriously undermines the usual narrative on the NHS. The UK is listed 12th in the rich world (the OECD countries), one place above Germany.
Ten years ago the picture looked very different. Source: OECD Health at a Glance 2013. Back then the UK was listed 22nd, twelve places behind 10th ranked Germany.
The data from 2010 to 2020 is available from the OECD Health Statistics database. I charted the UK and German data below. It shows the UK reducing its stroke mortality by 40% in the decade 2010 to 2020 and just pipping Germany by 2020.
It is very clear that stroke treatment in the UK improved massively in the previous decade and that the UK climbed the international rankings. I am sure someone will push back at me and say it was just the continuation of initiatives started under the previous government. There is some truth in that. It is also true that the NHS kept on improving and overhauled Germany in spite of austerity, etc.
The centralisation of stroke services into higher quality specialist centres was often bitterly contested by many silly politicians, not least MPs and councillors where I live in Ealing, but the NHS ran this change through with stunning results. And was encouraged to continue to do so by successive governments after 2010.
Phil Taylor 