NHS ‘privatisation’ bill ‘hangs in the balance’ says Unite
16 March 2011
‘privatisation’ bill hangs in the balance, as opposition
continues to mount, Unite, the largest union in the country, said
today (Wednesday 16 March).
Unite, which has 100,000 members in the health sector, said that
the country faced the biggest battle to save the NHS in its present
form since its inception in 1948.
Unite said that health secretary Andrew Lansley and his
ministers needed to radically rethink the bill to guarantee that
the NHS is the preferred provider of choice – not private
healthcare firms, some of which have bankrolled the Conservative
party.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: ”The government is
on the back foot over its Health and Social Care bill, following
the opposition voiced by the British Medical Association yesterday
and the Liberal Democrats at last weekend’s spring conference.
”Health professionals and the public are also becoming
increasingly worried about what it will mean to allow private
companies to have the whip hand in the provision of services
– they can see the scenario of services becoming fragmented and
patient care being rationed on grounds of profit and loss, not
individual clinical need.
”Health professionals never asked for this bill, were never
consulted on it, and fear absolutely for the future of the NHS.
That is why, as a country, we owe them a debt of gratitude for the
principled stand they are taking. Politicians must listen when
those with the skills and dedication needed to care for the
nation's health speak as one against this bill.
”The loud and clear message is that Andrew Lansley and his
ministers need to look again at how the bill is framed and make
radical adjustments to ensure that the NHS is the preferred
provider of choice for services– and not rapacious private
companies only interested in profits, not patient care.
”The BMA’s concerns about the bill - calling for a halt to the
‘top down’ reorganisation of the NHS - must be given the most
serious consideration, as GPs will be expected to control £80
billion of the NHS budget under the proposals in the bill.”
Unite said that the parliamentary committee scrutinising the
bill was discussing the new role of Monitor in the regulatory
framework which is at the heart of the government’s
‘misguided faith’ in the effectiveness of private enterprise in the
NHS.
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
For further information, please contact: Unite national officer
for health Rachael Maskell on 07768 693933 or Unite communications
officer Shaun Noble on 07768 693940
