The UK is facing similar issues to many of its peers; an ageing population, cost of living pressures and a growing burden of mental health problems.
But while citizens of many other countries report improvements to their health, those in the UK say it is getting worse. Health Foundation analysis of ONS figures shows the share of adults rating their health as “good” or “very good” dropped from 76% in late 2020 to around 71% in late 2025, a decline of 5%. Meanwhile in countries such as Bulgaria and the Netherlands the proportion of people reporting good health has risen.
Gareth Lyon, head of health and social care at right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange, argues the UK’s decline can partly be laid at the door of its “creaking” National Health Service. “The UK is becoming an outlier… we’re not prepared to look at how we make our system sustainable for patients in the long run,” he says.
He points to Health Foundation figures suggesting access to GP appointments and early medical intervention lag behind the Netherlands, with half of Britons reporting they “always or often” receive a same-day response from their GP, compared to eight out of 10 Dutch people.
Meanwhile, one in five British patients wait over a year for non-urgent surgery; in the Netherlands the figure is zero.
Lyon blames this on the UK healthcare model in which the state both funds and provides treatment; this lack of competition means there is little motivation for contract holders to become more efficient, save costs or respond quickly to patient concerns, he says. Although patients in the UK can opt to go private if they can afford it.
Instead, he argues the UK should largely replicate the Dutch healthcare system, in which adults pay for compulsory health insurance, with subsidies offered to those on low incomes, which he says has created a highly competitive environment among insurers and healthcare providers, incentivising the best treatment for patients.
Since this model was adopted 20 years ago, Lyon says the Dutch have seen a “massive expansion of primary care, early diagnosis and treatment” while still offering universal healthcare.