Sharron Storer, getting her point across in front of the cameras

Benedict Irvine, of CIVITAS, the Institute for the Study of Civil Society, says: "The strength of the French system is that there is no rationing, and the quality is very high."

Patients are able to "shop around" and see as many GPs as they want before choosing who will treat them. There are also many specialists such as dermatologists who patients can go to directly, simply picking them out of the phone-book.

And advocates say that not only can patients choose who to see, they can also choose when to see them.

Doctor-patient consultations tend to be longer than in the UK, and more immediately available.

With no referral system between primary and secondary care, people can choose whether to go to a public, not-for-profit private, or a profit-making private hospital.

Most French highly approve of their healthcare system

France and Germany, countries of a similar economic status to the UK, are also praised for the amount of money ploughed into their health systems.

However, critics such as independent think-tank the Kings Fund, say France and Germany may not be getting full value for money for the extra they spend.

Still, a 1996 survey of public satisfaction carried out by Dr Elias Mossialos, reader in European health policy at the London School of Economics, showed

and just 48% of UK citizens

The perception of the National Health Service is that it is no longer the "envy" of other countries.

Despite the Labour government's achievement in meeting its self-imposed target of cutting waiting lists by 100,000 from the figure inherited from the Tories, many patients still feel they are waiting too long for treatment.

Some postcodes are better than others

And death rates from cancer and heart disease are higher in the UK than other countries.

Postcode-prescribing - where access to care depends on where you live - and a serious shortage of doctors and nurses have also raised public ire.

The use of the private sector is increasing, but many people - in particular unions associated with the health service - are uncomfortable with the idea of the private sector having more of a role to play in the management of the NHS.

Benedict Irvine says that one of the strengths of the French system is it gives consumers more choice.

Dr Elias Mossialos says France and Germany are among countries which have had significantly higher levels of funding for many years. That, he says, means the UK has a long way to catch up even with the 6% per year increase promised by Labour over the next three years.

The spotlight is on Health Secretary Alan Milburn

Dr Mossialos feels there are two main challenges for Tony Blair: increasing the number of doctors and nurses, and significantly improving cancer care.

"Most important is to address who is going to deliver the service, whether in the NHS or private sector," he says.

"Cancer is an area where they have to concentrate their funds. The situation is appalling and something has to be done."

Tailoring the French system, where patients have easier access to specialist doctors at primary care level for the UK while retaining their historic "gatekeeping" role would be one way of utilising the doctors we do have more successfully, he says.

In terms of funding, Dr Mossialos says: "Much will depend on how much the government can increase funding on a long-term basis and the economic cycle."

He says if extra money was needed, the UK should look at patient charges rather than increasing the amount of provision from the private sector.

Benedict Irvine says the idea of paying at source for treatment is seen as "unpalatable" by some, but adds: "We already have some charges, for dental and eye care."

Your comments

If "prevention is better than cure", perhaps inducements should be provided to encourage the individual to be healthy.
Neil Turton, England

Blair should should first of all try to automise and reduce paper work in the NHS. All the doctors are fed up because of the amount of paper work. The second thing is he should give some free/discounted rail/bus travel to offices for the NHS nurses and doctors that will help in keeping them motivated
Gagan, UK

Interesting, the mention of compulsary insurance in France. I thought that National Insurance was just that sort of thing, instead it is just tax.
Peter Waine, UK

I am an ex-pat living in France and have front line experience of the French health system. My wife previously miscarried and had a serious infection afterwards, and then more recently, I spent two weeks in a French hospital with a herniated lumbar disc.

I can compare the level of treatment here in France with my own previous health care experiences in the UK. In a nutshell, there is an order of magnitude in difference between the two country's health care systems. The winner? By far that of France. I believe the reason why the French have such a good health care system is because their nation as a whole take enormous pride in having a system envied by the rest of the world. It's similar to the pride they have for their rail infrastructure.
James , France

You must bear in mind that free health care doesn't exist in France. You must pay for everything - GP visits, hospital stays (even in public hospitals), X-rays etc, and the social security only repays a proportion of yours costs (and it can takes months to get even that). You are only refunded 100% if you are lucky enough to have a complimentary private health insurance provided by your employer. We also pay much more of our salaries to the social security than in the UK.
Krys, France