Privatisation is one of the greatest scourges of our National Health Service.
Sold off. Outsourced. Divided into profitable chunks. However the privatisation deed is done, it invariably hurts patients, services and staff alike.
We’ve seen in recent years – under very different governments – that the dogma of privatisation has been allowed to creep into the NHS. At a time of austerity and squeezed budgets the privatisation drum is being beaten ever louder.
But this is not an issue which is confined to our borders. Privatisation of health services is a global problem. That’s why today the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) has organised a Europe-wide day of action on World Health Day – calling on governments to stop the privatisation and commercialisation of health.
Across Europe, trade unionists, patients and members of the public will unite against attempts to sell off our health services – and UNISON activists will be showing their support for our country’s greatest asset, the NHS, and those who built and sustain it.
Our union has always fought to defend our publicly-funded health service, and make sure that it stays free at the point of delivery. As long as that is under threat, we have to make sure the government hears our voices loudly and clearly, not just on World Health Day, but all year round.
So if you want to keep the private sector out of our health service, take part in World Health Day events near you, tweet ‘No to NHS privatisation’ and ‘Our health is not for sale’ using the hashtags #WorldHealthDay and #Health4All.
And keep fighting for the kind of health service that our country needs and deserves.
