Health spending. Extra time

The government is committed to raise spending on healthcare in the UK up to the European average by 2006. There is debate about the exact target figure, but agreement that the key consideration is how the extra money will be spent. If the UK is to achieve the EU average, it will probably have to increase private as well as public spending. To match German levels of staffing, the UK would need an extra 100,000 doctors and 300,000 nurses. There has been little analysis of how the extra expenditure will improve outcomes.