Keep the NHS Public
A campaign urging the government to rethink its proposed reforms to the NHS will be launched at this year’s Labour Party Conference.
Organisers of the campaign, the NHS Support Federation, which includes health care professionals, claims that the reforms will threaten both the ethos of the NHS, and the way in which it delivers care to patients regardless of creed, culture or personal wealth.
“At the heart of the changes is the creation of a market that welcomes profit-driven international corporations who answer to shareholders, not patients. This market will compel hospitals and health professionals to compete with other and with the private sector. Far from supporting the NHS, the private sector is in competition with it, and is already draining away resources and staff,” said the NHS Support Federation.
The Federation warns that inequalities in health care between the rich and the poor will quickly become apparent as income and profits take a higher priority than patient needs and clinical considerations. Job losses, bed closures and even hospital closures are predicted.
“There is no evidence that these reforms will improve the health service and the end result will undermine the choice that is most important to patients – access to comprehensive, trustworthy and local health services,” said the Federation.
Click here for the launch statement.
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