Healthcare students protest against ‘NHS privatisation’

Members of the Save Our NHS campaign – including medics and nursing students in white coats and scrubs – gathered outside Manchester Royal Infirmary last Wednesday in protest against what they say are government attempts to privatise the NHS.

The government has proposed Section 75, an amendment to the Health Act (2012) that would force all NHS services to compete with private companies to win government healthcare contracts.

Under the Health Act (2012), the bulk of the NHS budget is controlled by local groups of doctors called Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) who buy services for their local area from either NHS providers or private companies. Currently, CCGs have the freedom to stick with the NHS and rule out the private sector. If the House of Lords pass the new Section 75 regulations however on April 24^th, CCGs will be forced to open all NHS services up to competition. ‘Anti-competitive behaviour’ would risk law suits from private health firms and penalties from the watchdog Monitor.

The government was forced to rephrase their initial Section 75 plans after an outcry from Labour and Lib Dem MPs together with the Royal College of GPs and health trade unions including Unison, Unite and the BMA. Despite this, Lords scrutinising the redrafted proposals have judged that they were “substantially the same” as the original version.

Chair of the Save Our NHS campaign Charlotte Cook said “Under EU Competition law, private companies will out-compete NHS services on price alone. This is what happened with Manchester’s ambulance services. The bus company Arriva put in a bid that was of lower quality and safety than the NHS provider, but won the contract because they promised to do it cheaper. We urge everyone who uses the NHS to lobby a Lord through the website www.goingtowork.org.uk“