Campaign: Stop privatisation of NHS

Some members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have been attempting to recruit doctors to join the Keep our NHS Public campaign.

Professor Wendy Savage, who started the campaign, has implored her fellow doctors meeting for the BMA’s annual conference to speak out against the government’s health reforms, which she says amounts to an attempt to privatise the NHS.

“We are concerned the NHS is being slowly privatised and you can see it in the building blocks of this programme,” she told Sky News.

The professor added: “You find the government is still persisting in entering into contracts with more private companies in these so-called independent treatment centres, at the same time as hospitals are laying off staff, including doctors.”

“You can see these reforms do not actually fit together properly unless you look at an underlying programme which is ultimately to privatise the NHS,” she concluded.

British Medical Council chairman, James Johnson – who Professor Savage had said opposed her stance “vigoursly” – told the same programme: “We want an NHS which is free at the point of use and comprehensive.”

“We want to keep that because we think it is one of the great jewels in the crown of the British system compared to any other system,” he added.

The government has previously denied accusations that it has been trying to privatise the NHS and has often said that the opposition are planning to do this. The Conservatives have similarly denied any intention to privatise the health service.

© Adfero Ltd