Whilst the Labour Party's current plans for the NHS match those of the Tories, with more NHS privatisation, more use of mobile phone and digital services to replace seeing your GP and to help self-diagnosis; and an open door policy for private healthcare to take over NHS services; the Party that gave us the NHS is about to take it away!

So just what should the Labour Party's manifesto say about their NHS policy?

Below is what it SHOULD say, but will not:

When you consider that both Wess Streeting and Keir Starmer have taken funding from those involved in lobbying to turn thee NHS into the American system of Healthcare Denial in order to maximise profits for the insurance companies and hospitals and clinics, you can guarantee that the Tory line of the NHS being too costly in its present form; will remain Streeting and Starmer's mantra!

The biggest lie of all is that funding is greater than it ever has been, and that the NHS is too costly has always been that of the Tories, and now Labour.

The realty is that the increased funding has always gone into private healthcare providers ever since 2012, Hospitals have been closed, GP surgeries closed, Pharmacies closed, whilst the private sector involvement in providing NHS healthcare has vastly grown compared to its pre 2010 levels.

The FACTS:

• GPs are under intense pressure and it can be hard to get to see one

• The NHS is no longer always free at the point you need it. Patients now have to pay to access dozens of procedures that have been removed from NHS provision, many of which are clearly beneficial such as earwax removal - this is heightening health inequality

• Important sections of the NHS are no longer publicly provided - they are contracted to the private sector, and this has weakened the public NHS

• The 2012 Health and Care Act has increased a lack of accountability, with decision-making taken from local communities

• Commercial confidentiality prevents public scrutiny of private companies operating within our NHS

• Private hospitals have been shown to be unsafe, despite cherry picking low-risk patients

• Free health care is denied to over 1 million of the population, categorised as‘undocumented’ people (including 200k children) leaving them without access to hospital and mental health care, except immediate emergency treatment

This coming weekend (Saturday 9th March) there are protest events, to express anger at the deliberate destruction of our national health service.

The full list of events on Saturday 9th March:

Chippenham Keep Our NHS Public 1 High St, Chippenham SN15 3EP 11 AM - 3 PM

Ealing Save Our NHS Ealing Broadway Station Ealing, London 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM 

Greater Manchester KONP 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Haringey Keep Our NHS Public 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

Islington KONP 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Kendal and South Lakes 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Leeds 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM 

Sussex Defend the NHS 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

WestKirby KNOP Event - 11:00am until 12:45pm

Source: Keep Our NHS Public / unionsafety/ EveryDoctor

See also:

Private Healthcare Companies Who Pay The Piper, Play The NHS Privatisation Tune?

NHS Privatisation News Archive