Serious problems facing the NHS are not being tackled because politicians too often use it as a "political football," a think-tank has warned. The four nations of the UK are failing to learn from each other, with the NHS instead used "to batter each other over the head".
Helen Howson, director of the Bevan Commission, said each nation is missing opportunities to share ideas. These include tackling a surge in care demands from an ageing population.
Ms Howson said each nation and its health service had "a bit of the answer" but there needed to be a way of sharing the best ideas and approaches.
Ms Howson said the NHS had "tended to be used as a political football and that is to nobody's advantage".
There was a row only last week when Theresa May challenged the spending per head on the health service in England and Wales.
