HOW OTHER EUROPEAN HEALTH SERVICES OPERATE

FRANCE has a system based on private medical insurance through companies which run hospitals to nationally-set standards. Voted the top health service in a World Health Organisation survey. Family doctors are paid directly by patients or from claims on insurance premiums.

GERMANY has a mixed private and public health system. Most people are covered by medical insurance deducted from their wages and channelled into "sickness funds" administered by regional authorities, which run public and private hospitals funded by local taxes.

ITALY's system is based on a series of "mini-NHS" systems run by regional governments, modelled on the British principle of universal access to treatment free of charge at the point of use. Second after France in the WHO survey, it is financed mostly by regional taxes topped up by state funding. Profit-seeking companies can run hospitals and apply for funding from the taxpayer if they meet legal standards.

PORTUGAL has the closest system to Britain's NHS. Funded out of national taxes, it guarantees a service that is "universal, comprehensive and free of charge". But there has been a big rise in private health in the past 10 years.

SPAIN has a state-funded national health service run by regional authorities. The system is entirely publicly owned and managed. But private companies are beginning to make inroads into what is seen as a bureaucratic and under-resourced service.

DENMARK's hospitals are run by local authorities and paid for by local taxes, topped up by national funding. But patients are expected to pay for consultations, diagnoses and treatment by GPs.

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