JOIN THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO STOP NHS PRIVATISATION
Philip Booth, Gloucestershire Green party | 29.10.2005 15:42 | Health | Oxford
Stroud District Green party have signed up to support the national campaigning group 'Keep our NHS Public' and started collecting signatures today on Stroud High Street (i). They urge others to follow suit and download petitions.
John Marjoram, a District councillor and Deputy Mayor of Stroud, who was collecting signatures on the street and talking to people about what has been happening to the NHS, said: "People were truly shocked at the extent the private sector has already been brought into the NHS and even more shocked by Labour's latest plans."
Martin Whiteside, the Green party's candidate in Stroud in the last election, who was also collecting signatures, said: "New Labour are chipping away at the foundations of our NHS, and have no regard for the principles upon which it was founded - the provision of healthcare for all, free at the point of use. Despite claims of increased spending, many services are experiencing drastic cuts, and Gordon Brown continues to mortgage our future with the madness of the Private Finance Initiative."
Martin Whiteside, who is also a Stroud District councillor, highlighted the worrying case of the planned wholesale privatisation of the neighbouring Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (ii). He said: "This privatisation strikes at the very heart of an accountable, publicly funded health service. Are we really to believe that BUPA or Group 4 will have the best interests of patients at heart? It is clear that the most profitable operations and proceedures will be retained, at the cost of vital services such as mental health provision and expensive surgeries. This Oxfordshire experiment must be stopped in its tracks, before it spreads across the rest of the country."
Martin Whiteside concluded: "The Green Party has long opposed these assaults on the NHS (iii), and we are delighted to be joining with others from across the political spectrum who feel the same way. We will be out with the petition again and will do everything in our power to oppose the gradual privatisation of the NHS. It is simply unacceptable."
http://www.keepournhspublic.com/index.php
Notes:
(i) See www.keepournhspublic.com for more details of the campaign and to download a petition.
(ii) Under the scheme, proposed in early October by the Thames Valley Health Authority, the management and procurement of the Oxfordshire PCT services would be privatised - the main bidders including American healthcare giant United Health, security firm Group 4, and BUPA. Cllr Larry Sanders, who is Leader of the Oxfordshire County Council Green Group, resigned from the Oxfordshire NHS Mental Health Trust last week in protest at the drastic cuts being experienced in the NHS.
(iii) Gloucestershire Greens have repeatedly raised concerns about the privatisation of health: most recently earlier this month:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=771&Itemid=2
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=751&Itemid=2
Use search engine at our website for other news releases and letters.
Martin Whiteside, the Green party's candidate in Stroud in the last election, who was also collecting signatures, said: "New Labour are chipping away at the foundations of our NHS, and have no regard for the principles upon which it was founded - the provision of healthcare for all, free at the point of use. Despite claims of increased spending, many services are experiencing drastic cuts, and Gordon Brown continues to mortgage our future with the madness of the Private Finance Initiative."
Martin Whiteside, who is also a Stroud District councillor, highlighted the worrying case of the planned wholesale privatisation of the neighbouring Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (ii). He said: "This privatisation strikes at the very heart of an accountable, publicly funded health service. Are we really to believe that BUPA or Group 4 will have the best interests of patients at heart? It is clear that the most profitable operations and proceedures will be retained, at the cost of vital services such as mental health provision and expensive surgeries. This Oxfordshire experiment must be stopped in its tracks, before it spreads across the rest of the country."
Martin Whiteside concluded: "The Green Party has long opposed these assaults on the NHS (iii), and we are delighted to be joining with others from across the political spectrum who feel the same way. We will be out with the petition again and will do everything in our power to oppose the gradual privatisation of the NHS. It is simply unacceptable."
http://www.keepournhspublic.com/index.php Notes:
(i) See www.keepournhspublic.com for more details of the campaign and to download a petition.
(ii) Under the scheme, proposed in early October by the Thames Valley Health Authority, the management and procurement of the Oxfordshire PCT services would be privatised - the main bidders including American healthcare giant United Health, security firm Group 4, and BUPA. Cllr Larry Sanders, who is Leader of the Oxfordshire County Council Green Group, resigned from the Oxfordshire NHS Mental Health Trust last week in protest at the drastic cuts being experienced in the NHS.
(iii) Gloucestershire Greens have repeatedly raised concerns about the privatisation of health: most recently earlier this month:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=771&Itemid=2 http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=751&Itemid=2 Use search engine at our website for other news releases and letters.
Philip Booth, Gloucestershire Green party
e-mail:
press@glosgreenparty.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk