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Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, meaning England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have their own systems of publicly funded healthcare. A variety of differences exist between these systems, as a result of each region having different policies and priorities. However, each country provides public healthcare to all UK permanent residents that is free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation. In addition, each also has a private healthcare sector which is considerably smaller than its public equivalent. The most recent comparison from the World Health Organization is now significantly out of date: in 2000, it ranked the provision of healthcare in the United Kingdom as fifteenth best in Europe and eighteenth in the world. In their 2014 edition, the Commonwealth Fund's ''Mirror, Mirror on the Wall'' report, which ranks the top eleven first world healthcare systems, placed the United Kingdom as first overall taking first place in the following categories: Quality of Care (i.e. effective, safe, coordinated, & patient-oriented subcategories), Access to care, Efficiency, & Equity.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally )〕 The UK system had placed 2nd just four years previous in the 2010 report.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally, 2010 Update )〕 The UK's palliative care has been ranked as the best in the world "due to comprehensive national policies, the extensive integration of palliative care into the National Health Service, a strong hospice movement, and deep community engagement on the issue.".〔; 〕 On the other hand, in 2005-09 cancer survival rates lagged 10 years behind the rest of Europe,〔; 〕 although survival rates continue to increase.〔; ; ; ; ; 〕 In 2011 public expenditure on healthcare was around 7.8 per cent of the United Kingdom's gross domestic product, which was 1.1% above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average and about 1.4% above the average of the European Union. The total spending of GDP on healthcare, including private, in the UK is 9.4%, considerably less than comparable economies such as France (11.6%), Germany (11.3%), Netherlands (11.9%), Canada (11.2%) and the USA (17.7%). ==Common features== Each NHS system uses General Practitioners (GPs) to provide primary healthcare and to make referrals to further services as necessary. Hospitals then provide more specialist services, including care for patients with psychiatric illnesses, as well as direct access to Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments. Community pharmacies are privately owned but have contracts with the relevant health service to supply prescription drugs. Each public healthcare system also provides free (at the point of service) ambulance services for emergencies, when patients need the specialist transport only available from ambulance crews or when patients are not fit to travel home by public transport. These services are generally supplemented when necessary by the voluntary ambulance services (British Red Cross, St Andrews Ambulance Association and St John Ambulance). In addition, patient transport services by air are provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service in Scotland and elsewhere by county or regional air ambulance trusts (sometimes operated jointly with local police helicopter services) throughout England and Wales. In specific emergencies, emergency air transport is also provided by naval, military and air force aircraft of whatever type might be appropriate or available on each occasion, and dentists can only charge NHS patients at the set rates for each country. Patients opting to be treated privately do not receive any NHS funding for the treatment. About half of the income of dentists in England comes from work sub-contracted from the NHS, however not all dentists choose to do NHS work. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Healthcare in the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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