Green Party Conference today voted to support the British Medical Association's campaign against NHS privatisation.
Conference warmly welcomed the Look after our NHS campaign. The conference was told that the BMA campaign "closely accords with Green Party policy and ... explicitly challenges Labour, the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems: 'to move away from market-based policies and adopt a more constructive and cooperative approach to the delivery of healthcare rather than one based on competition and fragmentation'."
Delegates heard that like the Green Party, the BMA is warning against changes to the NHS being made as part of a programme of privatisation. The BMA's campaign theme is that "Commercialising the NHS is damaging our health service."
A party spokesperson commented after the unanimous vote: "Both the Greens and the BMA are opposed to PFI schemes, where private companies bid to supply patient care on behalf of the NHS. As well as costing the country money it can’t afford, these changes are not always in the best interests of patients. As profit-making companies, their primary commitment is to increasing profit for their shareholders, not to benefiting NHS patients.
"Profits made by these companies from providing NHS patient care may not always be invested back into the NHS. Private companies who run treatment centres are also allowed to ‘cherry-pick’ the clinical services they provide. This means they concentrate on those that are most profitable for them - not necessarily those that are most needed by patients."
The BMA is calling for an NHS which:
1. Provides high quality, comprehensive healthcare for all, free at the point of use
2. Is publicly funded through central taxes, publicly provided and publicly accountable
3. Significantly reduces commercial involvement
4. Uses public money for quality healthcare, not profits for shareholders
5. Cares for patients through co-operation, not competition
6. Is led by medical professionals working in partnership with patients and the public
7. Seeks value for money but puts the care of patients before financial targets
8. Is fully committed to training future generations of medical professionals.
For more details on the BMA's campaign, see www.lookafterournhs.uk.