International NHS?

It's being reported today that in the future the NHS may be able to sell its services abroad. This will be facilitated by the Department of Health and the UK Trade and Investment Department and could potentially see some big NHS names such as Great Ormond Street provide treatment abroad.

The idea behind the concept is that by providing charged for services internationally, the revenue generated will help the service at home and be of wider benefit to the UK economy. Also, it's been pointed out that the momentum of the Chinese and Indian economies could mean that the international healthcare market will open up even further in time.

In terms of medical tourism, one of the top destinations right now is Dubai - which even has a "healthcare city" - basically a super-agglomeration comprised of two hospitals and 100 outpatient medical centres staffed by 3000 medical professionals. Impressive stuff.

What do you think of the plan to sell NHS services abroad, and the NHS to become a 'brand'? Let us know in the comments - we'd love to hear from you.