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The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system for England. It is the largest and the oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. Primarily funded through the general taxation system, the system provides healthcare to every legal resident in the United Kingdom, with most services free at the point of use. Some services, such as emergency treatment and treatment of infectious diseases are free for everyone, including visitors.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Am I entitled to NHS treatment when I visit England? )〕 Free healthcare at the point of use comes from the core principles at the founding of the National Health Service by the United Kingdom Labour government in 1948. In practice, "free at the point of use" normally means that anyone legitimately fully registered with the system (i.e. in possession of an NHS number), including UK citizens and legal immigrants, can access the full breadth of critical and non-critical medical care without any out-of-pocket payment. Some specific NHS services do however require a financial contribution from the patient, for example eye tests, dental care, prescriptions, and aspects of long-term care. However, these charges are often free to vulnerable or low income groups, and when not free, often lower than equivalent services provided by a private health care provider.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 title=UK Dentist Prices - Compare NHS and Private Dental Treatment Costs )〕〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 title=Optician and Eye Care Prices - Compare the Cost of Eye Tests )〕 The NHS provides the majority of healthcare in England, including primary care, in-patient care, long-term healthcare, ophthalmology, and dentistry. The National Health Service Act 1946 came into effect on 5 July 1948. Private health care has continued parallel to the NHS, paid for largely by private insurance: it is used by about 8% of the population, generally as an add-on to NHS services. In the first decade of the 21st century, the private sector started to be increasingly used by the NHS to increase capacity. According to the BMA, a large proportion of the public opposed this move. The NHS is largely funded from general taxation with a small amount being contributed by National Insurance payments〔http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/10542622/The-awkward-truth-about-funding-the-NHS.html〕 and from fees levied in accordance with recent changes in the Immigration Act.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Immigration health surcharge: information for migrants )〕 The UK government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, headed by the Secretary of State for Health. The Department of Health had a £110 billion budget in 2013-14, most of this being spent on the NHS. ==Organization== There is no unified British NHS; the National Health Service in Scotland and Northern Ireland was always separate, and NHS Wales passed to the control of the devolved Welsh Government in 1999.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= NHS Wales - About Us: History & Context )〕 In 2009 NHS England agreed a formal NHS constitution which sets out the legal rights and responsibilities of the NHS, its staff, and users of the service and makes additional non-binding pledges regarding many key aspects of its operations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=NHS Constitution for England. Department of Health website )〕 The Health and Social Care Act 2012 came into effect in April 2013, giving GP-led groups responsibility for commissioning most local NHS services. Starting in April 2013 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are being replaced by General Practitioner (GP) -led organisations called Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Under the new system, a new ''NHS Commissioning Board'', called NHS England, oversees the NHS from the Department of Health.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The changing NHS )〕 The Act has also become associated with the perception of increased private provision of NHS services. In reality, the provision of NHS services by private companies long precedes this legislation, but there are concerns that the new role of the healthcare regulator ('Monitor') could lead to increased use of private sector competition, balancing care options between private companies, charities, and NHS organisations.〔 NHS Trusts are responding to the "Nicholson challenge" which involves making £20 billion in savings across the service by 2015. 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「National Health Service (England)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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