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MP PLEDGES TO SAVE NHS
Corbyn speaks out on 'back door privitisation' of Whittington
NORTH Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn waded into a row this week over claims that the Whittington hospital was being slowly “privatised by the back door”.
He spoke out on Wednesday following the Archway-based hospital’s annual meeting, at which further plans were unveiled to turn the Whittington into a flagship foundation trust.
“I came into politics to defend the NHS,” said Mr Corbyn. “I’ll spend the rest of my life defending a health service free at the point of use.”
Foundation status, heralded by New Labour, is meant to give hospitals greater democracy and financial independence.
But retired gynaecologist, Islington resident and founder member of the campaign Keep Our NHS Public, Professor Wendy Savage, and Angela Sinclair, secretary of the Islington Pensioners Forum, are among the fiercest critics of the scheme.
They argued that foundation status is merely “privatisation by stealth” resulting in services being contracted out to save money, and competition between hospitals, with non-foundation establishments going to the wall.
Professor Savage pointed out that at the nearby University College Hospital, a recent convert to foundation status, they had already employed a marketing manager.
Mr Corbyn said that he had been against foundation hospitals from the start and had voted against them in Parliament.
He added: “However, the legislation has gone through. If a hospital doesn’t go into foundation status it then runs the risk of being taken over and closed by the NHS at regional level or forced into a direction that many don’t want to go.”
The Whittington this year achieved Four Star status – out of a category of between 1 and five – and unlike many hospitals burdened with debt actually posted a £2 million surplus.
Mr Corbyn praised the management and the hospital chairman Narendra Makanji for helping to ensure it has become a big success.
He called on residents to take part in elections allowed under foundation status to ensure that the hospital remains firmly in the NHS camp.
He added: “We have got to support the Whittington – but we must strongly oppose the Department of Health’s aim, which is to require a proportion of the services to be sent out to the private sector. I’m not suggesting that the government is trying to privatise the health service – but somebody else could in the future because we’ve created the machinery under which they can do it. I support the Whittington because it’s a good local district general hospital run by the NHS and free at the point of use. And I’m going to keep it that way.”
Angela Sinclair, a member of the local hospital patients’ forum, warned that the Whittington could be in competition for resources with the UCH, Royal Free and North Middlesex. “Those that don’t get those resources could close.”
She added: “Foundation trust sounds very grand. It’s a bit like calling schools academies. But what does it all mean?
“I’m happy that Jeremy is keeping an eye on things but I fear he will have a difficult time.”
Wendy Savage said good health care is provided by co-operation not competition.
She added: “We have a perfect example in the US where with market forces and competition you get a health care system open to fraud.” |
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