As the largest publicly funded health service in the world, the UK's very own National Health Service (NHS) is set to take its knowledge base abroad, selling its advice to those countries or organisations that need help.

Health secretary Andy Burnham has revealed that to raise funds, the NHS will help other global health organisations to improve their efficiency and give advice to those in domiciliary care jobs to senior practitioner jobs.

The consultancy wing will be known as NHS Global and will attempt to identify international knowledge sharing and partnership opportunities. As well as offering advice, the Department of Health (DoH) is rumoured to be creating products for the international market to improve patient care abroad.

Expected to be launched in the summer according to Pharma Times, NHS global will aid departments within the health service to generate an income from a global healthcare market that is worth a reported £4 trillion. Any consultancy income can therefore be plunged back into NHS services, improving the service at home, as well as providing vital advice to health organisations worldwide.

Burnham commented on the new scheme, saying: ''Demand for NHS products and knowledge far outstrips supply'' commenting that the service is home to ''groundbreaking treatments, cutting edge research and a hub of information.'' This, the government argues, makes the service perfect to sell its advice to the rest of the world, obtaining a large revenue that can be put back into the NHS.