The prime reason for this is that the National Health Service is immune from most economic and market factors, but is completely subject to political decisions. More than virtually any other country on earth, the care you receive depends on the decisions of politicians. No MRI at your local hospital? That's because there isn't the funding from Whitehall. But say a new walk-in centre opened a few roads over, that'll be because government policy prioritises investment in high visibility services. This is a pattern repeated throughout the entirity of the NHS, with certain services winning greater funding that others - as a direct consequence of the politicised nature of the NHS.
To contrast, in America the funding a hospital receives is dependent on how many patients it has. This sounds like an obvious thing to say, but the consequences are far reaching. It means American healthcare professionals don't want to talk down the service they offer, quite the opposite. They want to encourage patients to come through their doors, by promising a good service even if the reality isn't so rosy. In the NHS the incentive is to focus on the problems of your department, hospital or service. It is only by painting a bad picture that you have a chance of competing for extra funding. If Camden PCT says that its mental health service is adequately funded and operating correctly, but Haringey PCT lists a litany of problems caused by underfunding, Haringey will likely be prioritised and have far greater access to any new funding.
This incentive is only magnified once you leave the corridors of power. The NHS managers themselves can't talk down their service too much - indeed, if they go beyond mentioning problems caused by underfunding their jobs are at risk. The same can't be said for the professional organisations, patients' groups and political organisations who are the main source of the negative press. They cast blame on whoever they wish in the ceaseless jockeying for funding. Politicians, as the focal point of all this, all too often focus on making the bad headlines disappear. A case in point is the new effort to expand NHS dental care after the stories which were dominating the news a few years ago.
In short, the way British healthcare is organised creates a situation where those who are best at complaining and criticising manage to get better funding for their favourite service or profession - a situation which goes a long way to explaining why scare stories about healthcare are such a prominent part of the British landscape and why other countries rarely indulge in this medical navel gazing.
