https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mps-hear-evidence-during-debate-nhs-privatisation-parliament
A general view of staff on a NHS hospital wardMPs have demanded that Health Secretary Wes Streeting “listen to experts” who warned against implementing his “disastrous” plans to further privatise the NHS.
At a debate chaired by Labour MP Richard Burgon in Westminster on Tuesday, MPs heard new expert evidence exposing that levels of privatisation within the health service were far higher than previously thought.
Mr Burgon said: “We need to push back against this Mandelsonian wing of the Labour party. I want Wes to hear what is being shared in this room.
“Privatisation is disastrous for patients and for workers. It’s not the way forward.”
The meeting with the NHS working group coincided with the publication of a report co-authored by campaigners Keep Our NHS Public and the 99% Organisation.
It found the level of private involvement in the NHS to be about 30 per cent, rather than the more widely known figure of 7 per cent.
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MPs including Rachel Maskell, Andy McDonald, Neil Duncan-Jordan heard testimonies on the “disastrous” state of privatisation in the NHS from health experts, NHS staff and economists.
Report co-author Mark E Thomas said: “The figure which is most referred to in this debate was 7 per cent of privatisation. But really we need to be thinking 30 per cent.”
He added: “In some specialties, more than 50 per cent of treatments are already paid for privately, such as ophthalmology for example. It’s the same for dentistry.”
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Original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mps-hear-evidence-during-debate-nhs-privatisation-parliament
