Green Party conference strongly criticises NHS privatisation

11 September 2010

An emergency motion, passed unanimously at Green Party autumn conference, has strongly criticised the privatisation of the NHS.

The motion called for a campaign to have those health providers which have already been privatised brought back into the NHS, and for the NHS to be promoted as a public service free of commercial interests.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party leader said: "The White Paper spells out just how far the Tories and Liberals will go with their destruction of our essential services. They are planning on full privatisation of NHS service across England, a move utterly opposed by us. They have hidden their idea as Foundation Trusts and Social Enterprise, but as residents in Huntingdon have found with their local hospital this is just a short step from takeover by corporate giants."

"Health care is not a market and shouldn't be run as one. Buying and selling packets of treatment like widgets in a factory is the wrong way to provide health care. It is expensive, fragmented and destroys quality. Health care is a service, an essential one, and should be run as such. Health care does not lend itself to the business models of Tesco or Asda."

"The new government's ideas are a death knell for the NHS and we will fight these changes. The NHS is a public service and should be publicly owned and run as such. "

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Full text of Emergency Motion, passed 11 Sept 2010 at Green Party autumn conference, Birmingham

"Conference condemns the Government's recent white paper, 'Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS', for its commitment to fully privatise health care provision and to increase the role of the market in the NHS. Conference calls on the executive and our MP to respond to the white paper consultation, to step up the Green Party's campaign of opposition to the privatisation and marketisation of the NHS, and to campaign to have those health providers which have already been privatised brought back into the NHS, promoting the NHS as a public service free of commercial interests."

 

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