MPs will debate a Private Member’s Bill on Friday to put a stop to the worst aspects of the government’s Health and Social Care Act – and UNISON members can pay their part in supporting it.
Clive Efford’s bill aims to repeal the worst elements of the act and to stop NHS privatisation.
It would:
- restore the health secretary’s full responsibility for providing a comprehensive health service, free at the point of delivery;
- remove those parts of existing legislation that enforce market competition in the NHS;
- prevent hospitals from prioritising private patient income at the expense of NHS patients.
The bill also attempts to make sure that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is being negotiated between the EU and the US, does not subject the NHS to competition and market obligations.
There are a number of ways you can help generate support for the bill in Parliament ahead of the debate on 21 November:
- encourage members and their families to sign the government online petition in support of the Bill at epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/68064;
- contact MPs to ask them to attend the debate this Friday, and to support the bill Get your MP to back the bill ;
- attend one of the many campaigning events in support of the bill – you can find out what’s happening near you at unionstogether.org.uk.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has welcomed the bill for “rightly placing patient care before profits”, adding: “We encourage people to write to their MPs and urge them to support the Bill.”
