The fight continues
The government's controversial Health and Social Care Bill has now cleared both Houses of Parliament and will soon pass into law in England. UNISON has led the campaign against this Bill since it was first published 18 months ago, and we will never stop fighting to defend and improve our NHS.We will rise to the challenge of resisting the implementation of this Bill on the ground and will work with other organisations and patients to defend the NHS against privatisation.
Get involved
Help us today by writing a letter to your local paper if your MP voted for the Bill to help get their actions on the record in their constituency.You can find out how your MP voted, get help with your letter and contact details for your local media, here
Sign the e-petition here and ask your friends, family and colleagues to do the same so that we can keep reminding the government how unpopular their Bill is.
What are UNISON's concerns about the Bill?
Putting profit before patients The Bill will introduce competition in the delivery of health care. Money that should be used to improve patient care will bleed out of the system into the hands of private companies. A postcode lottery will be allowed to develop - with no guarantee that your local NHS will continue to fund treatments that are not sufficiently profitable.
Private patients prioritised The Bill will remove the cap that restricts the amount of money hospitals can make from private patients. NHS patients will be pushed to the back of the queue, as hospitals will be able to raise unlimited cash from private paying patients.
Massive instability The NHS is under massive pressure to produce £20 billion of savings. The reforms will be hugely expensive to implement and will result in massive structural upheaval
