News Report Confirms Lansley Lied About Privatisation Of The NHS

A report in the Guardian has revealed that GP-led local NHS bodies are being forced to put health services out to tender –  despite categorical assurances from the then Health Secretary Andrew Lansley that that would not happen; despite the specific intentions within the 2013 amendments to the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Lansley knew of course the government's intentions to issue these enabling amendments once the Act was law.

New research by Health Service Journal shows almost 30% of clinical commissioning groups had opened up, or were opening up, services to competition because of fear about the impact of new rules in the Health and Social Care Act. The services included contracts for out-of-hours GP care, older people’s services, audiology, ultrasound and podiatry.

Dr Louise Irvine, the NHA Party London candidate for the Euro Elections, says it’s clear the government has misled the medical profession and the public:

"Government assurances that GP commissioners would not be forced to put services out to tender have been exposed as worthless. Just as we warned, the purpose of the Health and Social Care Act is to force the privatisation of NHS services.

The government denies there is privatisation but that’s a lie. The reality is that the pace of privatisation is accelerating as more and more contracts are being put out to tender. Contracts worth £11 billion have been put out to tender so far, with many more £billions worth in the pipeline. 75% of those contracts have gone to private profit-making corporations.

We must stop this headlong rush to privatisation if we are to save the NHS for future generations. A privatised healthcare system is more costly to run, takes money away from the NHS front line and puts it into private pockets, it wastes billions on bureaucracy, reduces quality and accountability and damages existing NHS services. We demand that the privatisation legislation be repealed by this government or the next."

However, if the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) goes through the EU Comision and the EU aprliament ratify it; the chances of ever being able to take the NHS back from the privatisation levels we have now, and the wholesale carving up of the NHS by American priuvate healthcare companies will be a mere formality.

Source: NHA Party / The Guardian / Unionsafety

Designed, Hosted and Maintained by Union Safety Services