The New Dark Age

7 April 2015

We’ve just caught a glimpse of the worst case scenario for our NHS. One of Britain’s leading doctors has just said that patients could have to pay for basic medical care after the election. He’s warning that politicians could “destroy the ultimate ethos of the NHS” by introducing fees and charges for NHS services like GP appointments. [1]
Our NHS was founded on the belief that everyone – rich or poor – should get the care they need. That principle is now in danger.

A huge petition now could force all political parties to promise they’ll never introduce charges in the NHS. If 38 Degrees members kick up a huge fuss now, parties will know they can’t sneak this through. But we haven’t got long to get them to rule this out – in the next few days, parties will be deciding on their final election promises. This could be one of them. Will you add your name?


SIGN THE PETITION


We rely on the NHS at the best and worst moments of our life. It has to be free at the point of use so it’s there for us all when we need it. Imagine waiting until payday to make a GP appointment for your child, or taking out a bank loan to have cancer treatment. That’s not the NHS as we know it.

Every single signature on the petition means more pressure on politicians to rule out charging us for healthcare. They know the public won’t stand for broken election promises. If we can force party leaders to promise to rule out NHS charges now, we can hold them to it later.

Please sign the petition now to keep our NHS free when we need it:


SIGN THE PETITION



Thanks for being involved,

Amy, Bex, India, Laura and the 38 Degrees team


NOTES:
[1] The Guardian: Basic NHS services could be charged for after general election, BMA chief says:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/03/basic-nhs-services-could-be-charged-for-after-general-election-bma-chief-says
[2] At the moment, the only main party to have released its manifesto is Plaid Cymru. The other parties are expected to release theirs in mid-April.