The Welfare System and the NHS

At present, around the world, the welfare system is progressively important for each citizen. The welfare system can help citizens when they meet some problem such as unemployment, sickness, homelessness. Especially, the citizens’ health problem is considerable important. In the UK, the government has National Health Service to give health security for each citizen. Therefore, the purpose of this blog is to compare the health system and Welfare system between Britain and China.

First of all, I will compare the health system between Britain and China. In the UK, it has National Health Service to ensure the health of each citizen. The National Health Service has three parts, there are hospital services, family doctors, opticians and pharmacists and local authority health services (including community nursing and health visiting), and this service is aim for each citizen in the UK. If citizens have some disease, they go to the hospital or visit the doctor, it is all free. The citizen needs not to pay any fees, except a little Prescription Fees. However, it has not specialized health system for citizens in China. Citizens all need to pay fees when they go to the hospital and the fee is extremely expensive. This is why it has some poorer and unemployed citizens have not ability to visit the doctor when they were sick. The National Health Service is beneficial for help citizens to solve the problem of health. Especially, aim for the poorer and unemployed citizens, and ensure each citizen can not afraid their health problem. Nonetheless, due to all the health fees is pay for by the government, thus it will bring some economic pressure for the nation and leads to some economic crisis. About the health system of China needs to continuous improve because it has many insufficient for the health system.

Except the National Health Service, it has other welfare security exist in the UK, and it is to ensure the citizen’s welfare. For instance, in the UK, it has social security system. This system is operated by Department of Work and Pensions and provides benefits for citizens of Britain. It implies the social security gives benefits to employers, and it pays by National Insurance Fund and income tax system. For example, if citizens were retired, the Income Support will pay retirement pensions for the citizen of retire. In the UK, the age of retire is 65 for men and 60 for women. In the China, it also has similar institution for the citizen of retire, and the age of retire is 60 for men and 55 for women. However, the difference is retirement pensions pay for by local government and the company of before. In the UK, if citizens have unemployed or low-income, and the Working Families’ Tax Credit will help them to ease the income problem. In China, the government also will help unemployed or low-income of citizens, but it has not enough ability to help each citizen because it has a significant number of populations in China, the government has not ability attend to all citizens. Simultaneously, the welfare system of China exist many defects. The nation still needs to continuous improve, and let citizens have a great life.

Resources:
http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx
http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/wstate.htm
http://www.globalaging.org/pension/world/socialsecurity.htm