Article Title: UK cancer survival rates are too low – our priorities are all wrong
Article Summary
The article at hand examines, at length, the shortcomings in the cancer treatment system of the UK’s NHS. The article comes in the wake of findings that cancer survival rates in the UK are noticeably lower than the global average of countries with the same economic conditions. While some progress has been made by Britain, and reports stand an extant but small chance of being misleading, there is cause for concern for the UK, the author believes. While most people blame the state-funded nature of the NHS, or the lack of expensive advanced tech and medicines, the fractures are to be located elsewhere. Basic infrastructural components like staff, beds and medical apparatus are scarce in the UK, leading to a whole host of problems. Patients are unwilling to visit doctors for check-ups due to a feeling that resources are scarce and they might not get required attention, and patients are also not referred to specialised hospitals at different stages of diagnosis. The healthcare system is also saddled with a lack of funds, and the condition remains far from satisfactory even after latest government announcements. The author insists that there is no cause for losing hope, and rapid improvement is possible if the right gaps are plugged – that is what the UK should strive towards, in his opinion.
Article Link: Click here to read the full article
Words to learn from this article:
Shortcoming: an area in which someone or something is found lacking.
Subtle: not overt, understated.
Incentivise: give someone reasons or motives to do something.
Referral: the recommendation of someone or something to another person or organisation.
Austerity: extreme simplicity and economic control, even poverty.
Spiralling: sharply rising.
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