Health policy in the various parts of the United Kingdom is beginning to diverge, so there are opportunities to learn from the differences. Most of the rest of our site is about England, so this page concentrates on the smaller countries.
- Isle of Man: The Department of Health and Social Security
- Guernsey & Alderney: Health and Social Security
- Jersey: Health and well-being
- Northern Ireland: Health & Care
- Wales: Health of Wales Information Service; Welsh Assembly Health and Social Services Committee
- Scotland: Scotland’s health on the web; Scottish Parliament Health Committee
Studies of the effect of devolution on health policy:
- Comparing the four health systems of the UK Nuffield Trust 2014
- The four UK health systems Learning from each other Kings Fund 2013
- Healthcare across the UK: A comparison of the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland NAO 2012
Scott L. Greer, currently at the University of Michigan, writes and speaks a lot about policies in the different parts of the UK – and succeeds in making the subject entertaining. He also brings interesting perspectives from both Europe and the USA.
The Nuffield Trust have done some work on values in the NHS across the borders and on Funding and performance of health care systems in the four countries of the UK
The Devolution and Health Project based at The Constitution Unit, UCL carried out a two-year programme of research into effective scrutiny at all levels of government in the UK from 2002-4.
Devolution and Social Care: Are There Four Systems of Social Care in the United Kingdom? Derek Birrell 2007
SHA conference – Vive La Difference – September 2007
Basic facts:
| England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales | |
| Population (2005) | 50.431,000 | 1,724,000 | 5,094,000 | 2,958,000 |
| Life Expectancy 2005 | 76.9 (m) 81.2 (f) | 76.0 (m) 80.8 (f) | 74.2 (m) 79.3(f) | 76.3 (m) 80.7 (f) |
| NHS organisation | Marketisation – development of purchaser provider split and introduction of more providers and more choice and competition | Civil service. Health and social care combined | Unified health systems combining hospitals and community services. Central and regional planning. | Greater emphasis on public health. NHS aligned with local authorities. Purchaser/provider split now abolished |
Competition or collaboration? A comparison of health services in the UK WW Holland 2010
Devolution and Social Care: Are There Four Systems of Social Care in the United Kingdom?