As jobbing surgeons working in the NHS, the founders of eoSurgical are entirely familiar with the impact of financial constraints on healthcare delivery. The UK spends heavily on health and social care: over £200 billion in 2020/21. However, as prophesied by the founder of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan, there is almost unquenchable demand.
Covid has added insult to injury and the NHS feels perpetually at breaking point. That this is the situation for the UK, with the fifth largest worldwide economy (as measured by GDP), shows how hard it is to get healthcare right. The UK is rightly proud of its NHS and, whilst imperfect, it is envied by many.
Less economically developed regions face a harder battle. As some nations’ economies improve, they may transition from fragile health infrastructure to more robust, potentially universal, systems. In situations of severe healthcare rationing, it can seem that a surgical service is a luxury that ought to be funded after, for example, oral rehydration therapy and vaccines. This is simply not the case.
The World Bank’s recent economic evaluation of surgery (Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition) illustrated that establishing capacity for 44 essential surgical procedures is as life-saving and cost effective as some of the most fundamental public health interventions. Surgery is an indivisible component of good healthcare.
eoSurgical simulation tools are used globally – in over 80 different countries with varying degrees of economic development. We began – and remain – committed to accessibility, as part of the ongoing drive to ensure global access to high quality surgical care.
Mark Hughes
Consultant Neurosurgeon and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Edinburgh
Director, eoSurgical
Email: mark.hughes@eosurgical.com
Twitter: @eosurgical
https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-mark-hughes
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