NHS 'medieval' says French minister

Bernard Kouchner says the NHS is 'intolerable'

The French health minister has condemned the NHS as "medieval".

Bernard Kouchner called the UK system "intolerable".

In an interview with New Statesman magazine, he added: "You have made big mistakes in your approach.

"The structure is bad. To have to take your doctor from a prescribed list, register with him and then not be able to move: "it's medieval".

You are a modern country, one of the leading countries in the world, and you cannot place your citizens in a situation where they don't receive the healthcare they need

Bernard Kouchner

He said when that system had been suggested to the French, 80% refused.

Mr Kouchner was speaking as head of the health system ranked number one by the World Health Organisation.

It is estimated France spends 9.4% of the national income on its health service, compared to the EU average of around 8%.

The UK spends around 6.8% of its national income on the health service.

And the UK government recently agreed NHS patients could be treated across the Channel if they cannot get the operations they need in the UK.

Choices

In France, patients can choose their doctors, go to others for second opinions, choose a specialist, and set their own dates for operations.

There are almost twice as many doctors in France as in the UK.

Doctors work privately, and a state system or the mutual insurance funds patients are required to sign up to supplement their basic cover pays the bill.

But French prescription rates are high, with the population spending 50% more on medications than on alcohol.

Mr Kouchner, who co-founded the health charity Medcins sans Frontiers, also agrees a quarter of the 4,000 public hospitals in France could close without adversely affecting healthcare.

He admitted: "It's true that the French consume more medicine than the British.

"It's also true that our trains work well, and yours work badly. And that our health system works well, and yours doesn't."

Spending

He said the UK had to spend more on health.

"If you approach healthcare as a matter of economy, it can't work.

"You are a modern country, one of the leading countries in the world, and you cannot place your citizens in a situation where they don't receive the healthcare they need.

He should come and see for himself

Dr Laurence Buckman, BMA

"In the 21st century, this is intolerable."

"Progress in health will always cost more. You know it will cost more. The question is this; are you willing to pay more?

"Not the government, but the citizens. Are British citizens willing to pay more?"

Mr Kouchner does admit the UK is ahead of his country in medical research, but says that advantage is wasted because the British public does not get access to new drugs any quicker.

Dr Laurence Buckman, a leading member of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, said: "Is the system medieval? - Yes.

"But the French system is even more medieval because it doesn't guarantee good care for patients."

He said French doctors were, on average, very badly paid, and patients' care was not co-ordinated, whereas UK patients get a "lifelong care" plan because they register with a one GP.

Dr Buckman said he suspected Mr Kouchner's comments came from "naivety and lack of education", adding: "He should come and see for himself."

A Department of Health spokesman rebuffed Mr Kouchner's criticisms of GPs: "We very much support the family doctor service in Britain.

"The NHS has been under-funded for decades, but is now receiving the funding it needs and reform it needs to make the NHS faster, fairer and more convenient for patients."