10 interesting facts about the NHS
In this article we will provide 10 key facts and figures about the NHS in 2024.
Key points – these are key stats about the NHS in either 2022/23 or 2023/24 (most data is for England)
- £182 million (and rising) in cost = spending of Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)
- 11.3% of GDP (your taxes) on health – slightly more than comparable countries
- 1.5 million staff – accounting for 45.6% of the NHS budget. Its the biggest employer in Europe and 5th biggest in the world
- 377,600 nurses (including midwives and health visitors); 140,700 doctors; and 39,800 managers (2.65% of workforce, i.e. NHS is under-managed)
- £56 for a GP appointment); £91 (A&E visit); £417 (ambulance trip, and admission); £14,547 (CABG heart operation)
- 7 regions, with 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICSs; sub-regional commissioning groups; 3-11 each) – ICSs are the main purchasers of NHS care. Each ICS covers about 1-2 million people (i.e.’county-sized’)
- 215 hospital groups (called ‘trusts’; including 10 ambulance trusts)
- 141,903 beds – and falling
- 16.5 million A&E attendances and 4.7 million emergency admissions and 8.6 million elective admissions (operations and procedures) – all rising
- 353 million GP appointments = about 5 appointments per person per year.
As you will see, most things are getting more expensive and demand is increasing. This is to be expected with a growing population (at 0.6% a year), and an increasing proportion of elderly people with multiple medical problems.
Note. Quite alot of the data below relates to England, as healthcare is devolved in the UK. So there are actually 4 NHSs: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Summary
We have described 10 interesting facts about the NHS. We hope it has been helpful
Other resources
We go through this in more detail in this article
The NHS in 10 numbers today
Key facts and figures for the NHS (Kings Fund)
NHS key statistics: England (House of Commons library, July 2024)
How good is the NHS?
