10th August 2006 updated 25th August 2006

Click 'Read more' for other recent letters on Labour's moves towards privatisation of our NHS. Click here for previous Glos health news, photos of the Stroud march and other actions. 

Brian Hughes accuses the Green party of 'ignorance', 'dogma' and being mistaken over our opposition to private sector involvement in the NHS (letters 26/07/06). Infact our opposition to privatisation has widespread public support and the British Medical Association has now publicly called upon its members to join the ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ campaign.

Labour's adoption of Conservative privatisation policies means more and more money for unaccountable health companies, shareholders and fat-cat directors but cuts to standards and already under-resourced services. The extent of private sector involvement already is staggering. Labour have increased health funding but it is the private companies that are seeing most of the benefits: £3.3 billion profit from PFI schemes alone. That taxpayers money could have prevented the threat to our local services.

Brian Hughes argues that GPs have always been mainly self-employed but he fails to note that those contracts were with the government. Under the new system, doctors’ contracts will be with the commercial sector.

A recent editorial in the British Journal of General Practice agrees with Green concerns that these new contracts are part of the process of NHS privatisation and should be repealed. They provide a way of breaking up primary care so that it can be taken over by commercial companies, including large US corporations that specialise in cutting costs by denying patients care. I would urge all to pledge their support to the national campaign to stop this: <www.keepourNHSpublic.com>

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party