Peers urged to reinforce health secretary’s role in ‘NHS
privatisation’ bill
11 October 2011
The House of Lords, due to debate the Health and Social Care
bill today (Tuesday 11 October), was urged to guarantee that the
health secretary is still responsible for providing a universal
health service.
Unite’s national officer for health, Rachael Maskell said: ”We
want peers to throw out the bill which will privatise the
NHS. It is their duty to insert as many safeguards as
possible and send this bill back to the Commons with a clear
statement - it isn’t wanted, it won’t work, it will create a vast
bureaucracy and a privateers’ paradise. The bill needs to go back
to the drawing board.
”We believe the peers need to focus on maintaining the role of
the health secretary to continue to ‘provide and secure’, not ‘make
provision for’ health services. The current bill goes on to list
services to be provided, but the legislation doesn’t. We want the
peers to beef up the health secretary’s responsibility in this
area. We also want to stop profit being put before care.
”The bill, as currently drafted, is a huge untested laboratory
that billions of pounds of public money will be poured into to
create a bureaucratic structure where private healthcare companies
will flourish. All the research and evidence shows a race to the
bottom when the market is introduced.
”The bill will, like the Trojan Horse, drive private companies,
shareholders and their divided payments into the heart of the NHS -
and this is another section of the proposed legislation that peers
need to reverse. We need to promote collaboration, not
competition.
”This is a once-in-a generation opportunity for the House of
Lords to reflect the national consensus, and to speak for the vast
majority of the public and health professionals opposed to the
privatisation of this country’s greatest social welfare achievement
– a universal health service free at the point of delivery for all
those in need, regardless of income.
”Even though the peers are unelected, they reflect the mood and
wishes of the country better than the House of Commons on this
issue. This is an unhappy state of affairs.”
The peers will be voting on the second reading of the bill
before it returns to the Commons.
ENDS
Notes for news editors:
For further information please contact Unite communications
officer Shaun Noble on 07768 693940
