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Vote looms on health bill that would subject English NHS to cronyism and cuts

The government has failed to allay privatisation concerns in major new health bill – MPs must vote it down at third reading

By Margaret Greenwood
Vote looms on health bill that would subject English NHS to cronyism and cuts
Protesters in London stage a demonstration against the Health and Care Bill, 14 July 2021 | Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy
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The UK government’s Health and Care Bill represents a major threat to the future of the NHS.

It will fundamentally change it from a national public service, delivered by public sector workers, to around 42 local, integrated care ‘systems’, each based on a business model. The implications for patients and staff are extremely serious.

If enacted, the bill will worsen a postcode lottery as each system will be required to develop a plan to meet the health needs of the local population, deciding which treatments to prioritise and which not to prioritise in their given areas.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0