Module 1《Our Body and Healthy Habits》cultural corner and task文字素材3（外研版必修2）.docVIP

British Health System Main Principle: there should be a free, comprehensive health service for everyone according to need, regardless of their income. Overview One major component of the health and social welfare system is the British healthcare system. The British healthcare system is called the National Health Service (NHS) , which is a publicly funded healthcare system. The NHS was formed in 1946 and officially went into effect in 1948. This system provides care in the areas of general practice, emergency, long-term care, and dentistry. One major characteristic of the NHS is that it actually employs the physicians and nurses and owns most of the hospitals and clinics. The NHS also pays directly for the health care expenses with prescriptions and dentistry being the two exceptions. In total the NHS has a yearly budget of ?0 billion and employess over 1 million people making the NHS one of the top 5 largest employers of the world. The NHS is divided into 3 main categories; primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care. Primary Care Primary care includes services rendered by family doctors, dentists, opticians, pharmacists, midwives, speech therapists, physiotherapists, chiropodists, dieticians, and counsellors. Primary care is the first step in diagnosis, treatment, and prevantitive health and accounts for 90% of NHS services. Prevantitive health is a major component of primary care with emphasis on preventing heart disease, stroke, managing asthma, and diabetes. Often family doctors and nurses work together to form a Primary Care Group in a community. Secondary Care Secondary care is the second line of defense and deals with more advanced services such as elderly care, maternity care, pathology, and radiology. Secondary care is also responsible for emergency services including emergency rooms and ambulance services. Tertiary Care Tertiary Care is the last line of defense and deals with highly specialized areas such as organ transplants, and rare cancer treatm