I don't think that conclusion is one that follows naturally from the data. And what the report misses out is that in many other countries patients are not put

I don't think that conclusion is one that follows naturally from the data. And what the report misses out is that in many other countries patients are not put off from seeking care due to cost either...and they achieve better outcomes. They do this through a mix of private and public healthcare which is naturally intolerable to the NHS. Btw, this should be plainly obvious if you actually look at what the data is...it is based on a population sample. If someone sick does not have access to care then that shows in the data. It is a great trick to change the question and say it is about access, it is not one that follows from the data. As a lot of the Nuffield Trust get their staff from the NHS, I am not surprised that they self-importantly included that their work has led to the UK being a "standout nation". The stuff about austerity is utter bullshit. Health spending per person has been growing after inflation at ~2%/year, and as a percentage of GDP health spending is up two points since 2010. Yes, attempts at cuts were made in 2017 (the rate of growth in spending was only ~1%) but that is because the govt had cut literally every other department to the bone first. A reasonable person would question whether that was worthwhile given that it involved large % cuts for the income of vulnerable people (in other departments, and in care budgets) rather than asking doctors to just accept an unchanged or small % drop in salary. Wasn't the recent negotiation for junior doctors a double-digit increase (which they wouldn't even accept and striked multiple times)? The willingness of Brits to not think rationally on this topic (and not realise how much lobbying goes into the maintenance of these views) is baffling.