Take Away English-Health Reforms 医疗改革

Brown proposes changes in the NHS

It seems that politicians around the world are thinking about the health of their countries. While in China, Chen Zhu has announced his plans for a universal health service and reform across health services, Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, has also announced he is planning to make some changes in our health service.

The crux¹ of Mr Brown's proposals are related to giving the NHS (National Health Service) a greater focus on prevention, rather than just curing patients.

He is planning to introduce increased screening for common diseases such as heart disease, strokes, and cancer, for example breast cancer. In Britain there are 200,000 deaths a year from heart attacks and strokes, many of which might have been avoided if the condition had been known about.

Initially², the diagnostic tests will be available for those who are most vulnerable, or most likely to have the disease, but later on the Prime Minister claims that they will be more widely available. One example is a plan to offer all men over 65 an ultrasound test to check for problems with the main artery³, a condition which kills 3,000 men a year.

The opposition⁴ have criticised Mr Brown's proposals, saying that they are just a gimmick⁵, and claiming that there is no proper timetable for the changes. They also say that Mr Brown is reducing the money available for the treatment of certain conditions while putting more money towards testing for them.

The NHS was founded in 1948, and is paid for by taxation⁶. The idea is that the rich pay more towards the health service than the poor. However in recent years there has been a great increase in the use of private healthcare.

Many people who can afford it choose to pay for medical care, often because it can be quicker, although the doctors and hospitals are often the same! NHS waiting lists for operations can be very long, so people can jump the queue by paying for their operation.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

universal health service 全民医疗服务 crux 要点 curing 治疗 screening 检查/查体 cancer 癌症 condition 病状 artery 动脉 gimmick 花招 putting more money towards 向…注入资金 waiting lists 等候名单

reform 改革 prevention 预防 patients 病人 strokes 中风 heart attacks 心脏病发作 diagnostic tests 诊断性检查 opposition 反对（党）派 timetable 时间表 taxation 税收 jump the queue 插队；夹塞儿

 

1 crux   

adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点

参考例句：

• The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
• The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

6 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。