The 17,000 are in the category mortality amenable to healthcare, referring to premature deaths that were treatable. That is five times higher than deaths from vehicular accidents, the alliance said.
The NHS was compared with the public healthcare services of Spain, France, the Netherlands and Germany. Although mortality rates have improved, it is only on par with rates during the administrations of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
Matthew Sinclair, author of the report, said, "Billions of pounds have been thrown at the NHS but the additional spending has made no discernible difference to the long-term pattern of falling mortality... we need to learn lessons from European countries with healthcare systems that don't suffer from political management, monopolistic provision and centralization."
King's Fund, an independent health think tank, disputes the alliance's conclusions. The fund said the alliance's basic methodological approach appears to be valid, but failed to take into consideration U.K.'s annual mortality rate ranges from 750,000 to one million and the higher spending on healthcare in other European nations.
Meanwhile, Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said because of lapses in NHS services, 30 percent of women wait two extra months to have a mammogram. Free routine breast cancer screenings were promised by the NHS to all British women between 50 to 70.
NHS data showed there were regions that complied with the three-year deadline, while others failed to deliver the promised service. Free breast screenings have saved around 1,400 lives since it was instituted in 1988.
