There are approximately 150 nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom for around 10,000 people News

It also showed that the United Kingdom is among the top five nations when it comes to achieving global health goals but is still struggling with childhood obesity, the level of alcohol consumption and smoking.

"The balance of doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists in the country's workforce supports the types of care available"

Rafael Lozano

The latest estimates of the state of global health, published in a special edition Lancet, indicate that the United Kingdom ranked fifth in 2017 in terms of meeting the goals of sustainable development of the United Nations for health.

However, the findings of the Global Disease Study (GBD) show that progress in health worldwide is inevitable, partly blamed by the shortage of health professionals.

The GBD study, which is presented in seven new The Lancet documents, is coordinated by the Institute for Measurement and Evaluation of Health at the University of Washington, USA, and includes more than 3,500 associates from more than 140 countries.

For the first time, estimates include an analysis of the "worker health density" that focuses on the number of nurses and midwives, doctors and pharmacists.

The authors have found that more than 30 doctors, 100 nurses and midwives and five pharmacists per 10,000 people are optimal when it comes to providing access to healthcare and quality services.

Countries have assessed how well health systems ranged from 0 to 100, of which 15 – including Sweden, Germany and New Zealand, reaching the highest point, and the United Kingdom with 99 points.

Other countries, which reached a maximum of 100, were Cuba, Andorra, Norway, Switzerland, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Belgium, Slovakia, Austria, Bermuda and the Czech Republic.

The breakdown of results for different countries shows that in 2017 it was estimated that the United Kingdom has approximately 150 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people. It is expected that the numbers will increase by almost 9% by 2030, so that until now there will be 168 nurses and midwives.

The study shows that in 2017, approximately 27 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants were available, with the number expected to increase by more than 25% by 2030.

In the meantime, there were about six pharmacists per 10,000 people, and are expected to grow by about 18% by the year 2030 by eight.

However, the analysis shows that many other countries face a shortage of employees, with almost half of the countries having less than 30 nurses or midwives and less than 10 doctors serving 10,000 people.

While the authors of the study said that numbers could not predict the quality of supply in the supply, they said that the composition of the health workforce is crucial.

"The balance of doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists in the country's workforce supports the types of care available to the population," said Rafael Lozano, chief author.

"While increasing the number of health workers will be important for many countries, it is crucial that this growth provides for a different composition of the workforce," he said.

The authors have found that they are not according to medical specialties by the doctor and nurses, which can be important in analyzing the labor shortage according to the health trends in each country.

The GBD study is the only annual, comprehensive, expertly assessed global health trends assessment that provides global and national assessments of approximately 280 causes of death, 359 illnesses and injuries, and 84 risk factors in 195 countries and territories around the world.

Those who have been told for this survey, the data for 2017 painted an "exciting" picture with an alarming slowdown in key areas.

For example, the study shows improvements in adult mortality rates that were less pronounced in general and stagnated and deteriorated in some countries in 2017.

"Although many high-income countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have achieved high profits in life expectancy for decades, in recent years, the rate of progress has stalled, especially over the last decade, while inequalities within the country have widened in life expectancy." said the article on mortality rates.

Meanwhile, the study shows that no country is on track to reach the goals of the United Nations for sustainable development in order to improve health by 2030.

While Great Britain is very successful in many areas when it comes to these goals, the study shows that it continues to be in a dangerous area for childhood obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking – along with other well-being nations.

The results advocate the occurrence of HIV and the rate of child abuse, with the United Kingdom also doing less when it comes to suicide rates.

Forecasts for 2030 show that all these areas will continue to be problematic, with the assessment of the obesity of the infant worsening, and the United Kingdom will rank in the 6th place on the global level.

The study shows that half of all deaths in the world have caused only four risk factors in 2017 – high blood pressure, smoking, high blood glucose levels and high body mass index.

In addition, the three most important causes of disability were those who had problems with back pain, headache and depressive disorders – and have remained for almost three decades.

Prevalence of obesity is still increasing in almost all countries of the world, with more than one million deaths found to be due to type 2 diabetes in 2017.

Total fertility rates have been decreasing since 1950 with 91 countries – including the United Kingdom – where women have less than two babies on average, although more than 100 nations experience baby boom.

Meanwhile, the study finds that some emerging unfavorable trends with conflict and terrorism are an increasing threat to global health, resulting in a 118% increase in related deaths between 2007 and 2017.

The editorial board that accompanies the study also published in Lancet, hopes that the findings will be shocked by national governments.

"GBD 2017 is troubling. Not only does the aggregated global numbers show alarming ongoing downturns, but more granular data generates precisely how unequal progress has been made," he said.

"GBD 2017 is a reminder that progress without supervision and constant effort can easily be reversed," he added.

She stated that the study drew attention to the need to find innovative ways to tackle existing and emerging health challenges.

"The GBD 2017 should be an electric shock that would encourage national governments and international agencies to not only double their efforts to avoid the direct loss of hard-won benefits, but also to adopt a new approach to growing dangers", said the editorial board.