I will be looking at the effects of acute and chronic illness on society, particularly in Britain, and the differences between public and private healthcare in their treatment of these problems. Great Britain has a relatively high level of public expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of its GDP. In terms of its healthcare structure it is one of the most public systems as it has a National Health Service, thus offering free healthcare to all residents. The system differs greatly from the more market driven and private healthcare structure of the US. Because of the provision of free healthcare, the vast majority of people in Britain use public healthcare as opposed to the expensive private alternative. However, this does not mean that public healthcare in the UK is superior to other countries as the government struggles constantly with the cost of maintaining the NHS. This leads to a number of cost cutting initiatives, rationing and an inability to purchase the most expensive and advanced medical equipment. The British government also suffers with such problems as bed blocking as hospitals are over subscribed with patients, which leads to increased waiting times for ill people. These problems occur far less in private healthcare sector in the UK, which is of a high level, but it is difficult for the majority to afford.

An acute illness is one, which begins and progresses rapidly such as a cold or flu. The person is fine one moment and in urgent need of medical help the next. The opposite of this is chronic illness, which is a disease or disorder of slow progression and long duration such as HIV or cancer. By distinguishing between chronic illnesses and acute illnesses the inequalities between public and private healthcare are made much clearer. Chronic diseases have been described as ‘crushing the NHS’. Our National Healthcare system is much more attuned to dealing with short term ‘acute’ problems as opposed to chronic ones. This is because the cost of treating chronically ill patients is extremely high as the average healthcare cost of a person with a chronic illness to the government is 5 times greater than for someone without a chronic condition. The NHS cannot afford to treat the rising number of patients to a high standard. The impact of these chronic illnesses combined with poor treatment by the NHS is clear, as they are responsible for about 7 out of every 10 deaths in the UK. Worryingly for society, The rate of obesity has increased significantly over the past few decades and this increases the risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Private healthcare in the UK is much more successful at treating these illnesses as they are more specialized and well funded. However, this is not an option for many due to the high costs. This has very damaging implications for society as about 25% of people with chronic diseases have some degree of activity limitation which causes difficulty in completing everyday tasks and can restrict them from working or attending school. Those with the functionalist perspective of health and illness would be particularly worried by the effects of chronic illness on society as they see the importance of good health in terms of its role in helping society to run smoothly. Increasing rates of chronic illness combined with continuing medical advancements means that people are living longer yet a larger amount are incapacitated by the effects of chronic illnesses. Therefore, the government is having to spend more on caring for these elderly sufferers and thus taking money away from other areas of society. These sufferers are no longer able to work and contribute to society in an economical sense and this has harmful implications.

The NHS is far more successful at dealing with acute illnesses due to the widespread access of its service. The NHS has a huge amount of hospitals, ambulances and paramedics that are spread across most of the country. This allows a quick response time when someone suffers from an acute incident. Private healthcare, on the other hand, is less capable of reacting to these issues as private practices are less widespread and are usually congregated in certain wealthy and developed areas such as London’s Harley Street. They are more focused on chronic illnesses meaning that public healthcare is far more effective when reacting to and treating acute problems such as the flu or even a physical injury. Acute illnesses are less detrimental to society as they cost less to treat, need little medical attention and last for a small period of time meaning that people are able to return their normal roles soon afterwards. This is another reason as to why they are less dangerous to society as they do not cause a significant change in a person’s lifestyle and contribution to society. However, the problem with acute illnesses and diseases is their regularity. While the NHS may be successful which dealing with them efficiently through the use of drugs and other methods, they are less successful at preventing them. For instance hospital-acquired infections are very common. Acute problems do have less of an impact on the standard of living of people in a country when compared to chronic ones. People who suffer from chronic illnesses will not only suffer physically but mentally too as their suffering will be drawn out and can cause permanent disabilities.

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