NHS failings caused thousands of avoidable deaths in 2013, with a third of deaths amongst Britons under the age of 75 occurring needlessly.
A EuroStat report, which uses figures from the European Union statistics office, was recently published comparing healthcare across Western Europe.
The UK performed worse than almost all other Western European nations.
It revealed that over 60,000 patients in the UK suffered an avoidable death in 2013.
More than 30,000 of these were due to cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke. This is compared to 15,000 deaths in France, which has a similar sized population.
Preventing avoidable deaths in patients under the age of 75 was particularly poor, with the UK being the worst performer other than Ireland, Greece and Malta.
“Too slow”
Cancer survival rates were also highlighted, with the UK’s five-year survival rate falling below the European average in nine of the most common cancers.
Professor Karol Sikora, former chief of the World Health Organisation cancer programme, said: “If you have a symptom of something that might be cancer, on the Continent it gets investigated in a week.”
“Here [the UK] it can take months. It’s just too slow. Such delays can mean the difference between life and death.”
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