2022 IB Diploma Extended Essays

Management of breast cancer screenings through a centralised system

One of the defining aspects of the NHS is the centralisation of health care within the United

Kingdom (Chandrashekhar T Sreeramareddy, 2019). Thus, the allocation of healthcare

resources is the responsibility of the federal Government. This has a detrimental effect on the

UK society ’s health during the global health crisis as the federal Government may find

difficulty managing and distributing resources efficiently, especially in non-essential areas

such as cancer-screening. Such delays in cancer screening services and other healthcare needs

implicates greater severity of these diseases, as explored in this investigation (Stephen W.

Duffy, 2022).

UK

As established previously, the UK follows the NHS, resulting in a highly centralised health

care system. Consequently, mammogram screening services which are halted in some areas

are more than likely paused in all areas within England to allow for easier resource

management for the Government. Due to the significantly larger population of the UK in

comparison to the Switzerland and Belgium, the government may have felt more compelled

to shut down such screening services to limit the number of people entering the hospital.

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