nhs privatisation
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A moment of honesty is required – New Labour began the dismantling of our NHS By Kailash Chand
It is universally accepted that the creation of the National Health Service is the single greatest achievement of the Labour party. The neglect of the NHS was a principal contributor to the downfall of the last Conservative Government and it was a major issue that helped New Labour mobilise mass political support for a landslide… Continue reading
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Patients occupy threatened mental health clinic, some signs of victory? By Steve Sweeney
A seven-week occupation of a Cambridge NHS mental health clinic in Britain threatened with closure is having more success than past campaigning – is this the way forward? Continue reading
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Family doctor services “under severe threat of extinction” in Britain By Mark Blackwood
RCGP president Dr. Maureen Baker told the Guardian that the GP health care service, which is the bedrock of the National Health Service (NHS) and accounts for 90 percent of all patient contact is “in crisis”. “GPs and practice nurses can’t keep doing more for less now that funding for general practice in England has… Continue reading
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NHS Foundation Trusts – a democratic failure? By Richard Berry
10 years ago Alan Milburn launched the first Foundation Trusts. But despite his rhetoric of ‘greater local control’ the reality is apathy and powerlessness. Is it time for a different approach? Continue reading
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Nuffield Trust report exposes Tory lies on Welsh NHS By Tony Beddow
David Cameron claimed last week that the Welsh border was “the dividing line between life and death”. A new Nuffield Trust report shows such rhetoric is dishonest. In fact a thorough comparison of the UK health systems – published earlier that day by the independent Nuffield Trust – showed that overall, NHS Wales compares well. Continue reading
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Kings Fund suggests NHS fees – but is it really ‘independent’? By Gary Walker
The question of NHS ‘affordability’ is used by think tanks and politicians to browbeat us into accepting regressive changes that suit the few, not the many. Better options to save money are ignored. Continue reading
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The World Bank, the PFI hospital and the destruction of a nation's healthcare system By Anna Marriott
The World Bank promised Lesotho that its PFI-style hospital – the first in any low-income country – would cost the same as its old public hospital. Instead it is eating up half the entire nation’s health budget, while paying 25% returns to the private partner. It now costs Lesotho’s government $67 million per year, or… Continue reading
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Don’t believe the hype – the Welsh NHS has much to teach England By Julian Tudor-Hart
Cameron this week labelled the Welsh NHS ‘a scandal’. But this is largely a propaganda war, designed to discredit the non-privatised path the Welsh have taken. The Welsh created the NHS, modeled on miners’ mutual aid schemes. They have so far strongly resisted attempts to return healthcare to market competition. Since devolution a new generation… Continue reading
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Who is behind Reform’s call for NHS charges? By Tamasin Cave
The private health insurance industry has been trying to get think tanks to help it make money in Britain for the last 10 years. Is today’s report by Reform calling for NHS charges the result? Continue reading
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Shock U-turn as sell-off of George Eliot hospital cancelled By Caroline Molloy
The planned sell-off of George Elliott hospital has been cancelled, hailed as a victory for common sense by unions and campaigners. Continue reading
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Tory links of health agencies exposed as Hunt lines up next NHS sell-off By Jos Bell
Whilst understaffed wards and surgeries turn to well-connected private sector agencies to fill the gaps created by Cameron’s health ‘reforms’, the NHS’s own in-house recruitment agency is to be sold off, it has emerged. Despite a turnover of about £450million, the agency operates with low profit margins, with most funds going to staff pay rather… Continue reading
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UK parliament approves assault on National Health Service By Robert Stevens
In a move heralding a major assault on the National Health Service (NHS), parliament voted through legislation on March 11 allowing the health secretary to close hospitals and cut services, with virtually no challenges allowed. The vote on Clause 119 of the Care Bill was passed by 297 MPs with 239 against. Continue reading
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London’s NHS at the crossroads By John Lister
A duty of candour for NHS managers and ending cash-driven closures – those are amongst the recommendations of the People’s Inquiry into London’s NHS which raises serious concerns of creaking services in the capital. Continue reading
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The third big NHS deception By Guy Collis
The public will not fall for the government’s deception over the hospital closure clause – even if MPs have. First, and most important, is 20 March 2012 when the Health and Social Care Act – which abolished the Secretary of State’s duty to secure a comprehensive health service – stumbled out of the House of… Continue reading
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Bad science, health risks, and the EU/US trade treaty By Molly Scott-Cato
Whether on GM foods, pesticides, or pharmaceuticals, the EU/US trade treaty aims to strip away higher European regulations that protect public health but hinder corporate profits. Continue reading
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Outsourcing cancer care – the biggest and most reckless NHS privatisation yet? By Clive Peedell
Outsourcing over a billion pounds of cancer and end-of-life services is reckless and shows just how threadbare government promises of ‘no NHS privatisation’ have become. Continue reading
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The NHS, the LibDems & the “Undesirable Contact Man” By Andrew Causon
The Lib Dems’s biggest donor isn’t just an alleged arms dealer – he’s also owner of an expanding private sector NHS business providing substandard care to vulnerable patients. The Choudhries and their healthcare business Alpha Health are one of the Lib Dems largest donors, giving them a total of £1.26 million over the last 10… Continue reading
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Britain: More health services face privatisation By Mark Blackwood and Paul Mitchell
Private-sector companies such as Alliance Boots and Bupa are eyeing the new contracts and have expert teams at hand, well versed at drawing up contracts. They are willing to submit loss-making bids in order to gain a foothold in the market. To meet this competition, existing providers, mainly GP surgeries and health centres, are being… Continue reading
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Triple-headed NHS privacy scare after hospital data reach marketers, Google By Simon Sharwood
On page eight, a section titled “The cloud can transform the way the NHS connects and uses data” the discussion turns to “an archive called Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)” that contains “a huge amount of detailed data” about the activity of “every Hospital in England.” A busy time, then, for HSCIC’s spin doctors and a… Continue reading
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Government brushes aside NHS Free Trade Treaty Concerns By Ben Cooper
MPs raise concerns about the impact the forthcoming trade treaty, TTIP, will have on the NHS – but Minster Without Portfolio Ken Clarke says it will make no difference. The government refused to exempt the NHS from the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) despite a volley of concerns from opposition MPs aired during… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 