This website is intended for healthcare professionals

News

Government 'taking a wrecking ball to the NHS', claims Unite

Policy Privatisation
Unite's general secretary Dave Prentis has acused the Government of 'taking a wrecking ball to our national health service'.

Unite's general secretary Dave Prentis has acused the Government of 'taking a wrecking ball to our national health service'.

Speaking at the unions annual health conference in Glasgow last week, Mr Prentice said: 'Our health members are under attack, because of the thirst for profit, the greed of bankers, the failure of Governments. Private providers getting on the bandwagon and ignoring the lessons of PFI as more debts are piled on hospitals through bad commissioning of hospital services.

'Cameron and Osborne crying crocodile tears when it suits them - talking down our NHS while pretending to care - starving it of cash but spending £10m on a funeral. £10m that would have paid for 400 nurses, £10m that would have treated 300 cancer patients, £10m that would have stopped 7,000 people falling into fuel poverty.

'They plant the seeds of doubt in the public mind and they say that the private sector can do it better but already the problems are surfacing - waiting times are increasing and public satisfaction is beginning to ebb away.

'Where our people see economic misery the Government sees an opportunity to weaken trade unions, to reduce wages, cut sick pay and make you work longer. A country with no employment protections and where the price of justice is going up - legal aid is being cut and fees for tribunals going up. Everything up for sale if they get their way, a return to a Victorian past.

'We cannot let that happen we have the strength to stand in their way.'