Saturday 4th October marks the official launch of the Campaign for the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
Our aim is to reverse the failings of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and fully restore the National Health Service in England as an accountable public service. We will be encouraging voters to ask candidates in the general election to support including a Bill that would do just that in the first Queen’s Speech after the election.
Professor Allyson Pollock launched the campaign at a special meeting at the Liberal Democrat Annual Conference in Glasgow, whilst Peter Roderick also launched the campaign at the Annual General Meeting of the NHS Consultants’ Association in London.
“This Bill is a vital public health measure. It will both restore the NHS in England and reverse more than two decades of policies which have been intent upon privatising NHS services and funding, ultimately to its demise.” Professor Allyson Pollock
Underpinning the campaign is a proposed NHS Reinstatement Bill, co-authored by Professor Allyson Pollock and Peter Roderick. The proposed Bill would abolish competition and the purchaser-provider split, re-establish public bodies and public accountability, and restrict the role of commercial companies. It draws on some of the best examples of NHS administration over its history, retains some features of the reforms laid out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and would be implemented on a timescale determined by the Secretary of State. More details of the Bill are available here.
“The proposed NHS Reinstatement Bill is a necessary legal measure to prevent the NHS in England becoming simply a memory, something that we had once upon a time. We need to put pressure on those wanting our votes in the general election to restore its founding vision.” – Peter Roderick
“As the failures of the 2012 Act become daily evermore obvious, this Bill provides a template for very necessary reinstatement and reform. The Secretary of State will decide the manner and the pace of implementation – except for section 1, which would restore his or her legal duty to provide the NHS with immediate effect.” – Lord David Owen CH FRCP
If you agree please contact your local MP and prospective parliamentary candidates to ask if they support the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
