Louise Bours, the UKIP health spokeswoman, has said the party intends to challenge Labour as the 'party of the NHS.'
Louise Bours, the UKIP health spokeswoman, has said the party intends to challenge Labour as the 'party of the NHS.'
In a speech at the party's conference in Doncaster, Ms Bours said her party would work alongside trade unions to oppose the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which critics say would further open the NHS privatisation. She produced a letter from Len Mcluskey, general secretary of the union Unite, appealing for UKIP's support in opposing the TTIP.
Unite is Labour's largest donor, and are fiercely opposed to the trade agreement.
Other UKIP pledges on the NHS include the creation of a licensing and review system for NHS managers, plans to replace Monitor and the CQC with a regulator run by clinicians, and a crackdown on 'health tourism', which UKIP claim costs the health service £2 billion a year.
Ms Bours also said her party is opposed to charging for GP appointments, saying 'UKIP will ensure the NHS remains free at the point of delivery and need. A two tier national health system, where those with money can opt to pay for enhanced services will never be acceptable.'