My attention was drawn to the NHS this week as it receives huge amounts of criticism from lobbyists on behalf of the major drug companies in the US. It's in their vested financial interest to maintain the status quo by maintaining private health care in that country despite 40 million Americans unable to afford it! As President Obama's health care reforms are on the horizon, attempts to sabotage them by negative publicity of the NHS showing a system that does not work and cannot pay for itself needs defending I feel.

While it is notoriously difficult to measure the efficiency of a health care system the NHS consistently improves upon life expectancy and infant mortality and generally people who have had direct experience of the NHS report being satisfied more than those dissatisfied. Some of the statistics regarding the NHS are quite phenomenal:

• Employs more that 1.5 million people (including counsellors and psychotherapists and psychologists); only the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Wal-Mart supermarket chain and the Indian Railways directly employs more people!

• The NHS is England caters to a population of 50 million people and is the biggest part of the British system.

• On average 1 million people are dealt with every 36 hours; 463 people a minute; 8 a second!

• Each GP sees on average 140 patients a week.

• The NHS had a budget of £437 million in 1948 when it was launched. Today it receives £90 billion.

I think we can be proud of a system that will never see the likes of images on the BBC web site recently showing make shift medical tents in Los Angeles treating those unable to pay for medical care, images certainly not associated with a first world nation.