The Radical Futures of the NHS: People or Profit?

Friday 19 May, 17:30, Edward Street Lecture Theatre

 

In a panel discussion, experts discussed the creeping privatization of the NHS, the likely implications of NHS privatisation, and some of the ways in which NHS privatisation is being challenged. 

 

Dr Youssef El-Gingihy, GP, public practitioner, and author of How to Dismantle the NHS in 10 Easy Steps, will argue that there has been a stealth implementation of a for-profit healthcare system, with the NHS having been inched towards a US model of profit-based healthcare by New Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dem Governments over the last 25 years. He will argue that the final transformation is now taking place, with the NHS in England being converted into ‘accountable care organisations’ with minimal democratic accountability or consultation.

 

Harry Leslie Smith, 94 year old author of Harry’s Last Stand, will talk about life before the NHS, and his concerns that Britain may be being dragged back to a time in which the state did not provide support for poor and vulnerable people.

 

Deborah Harrington, policy advisor for the National Health Action Party will discuss attempts to bring a judicial review of plans for new local NHS and Social Care Organizations. She will argue that these organisations are set to operate fixed, pre-set population budgets, that will ultimately be insufficient to meet the public need. As a result, they risk ending the NHS as a comprehensive service for everyone who needs healthcare.

 

Nicholas Csergő, Labour member and NHS campaigner, will address the wider political context of NHS privatisation, highlighting the role of vested interests and calling for new legislation in the form of an NHS Reinstatement Bill.

 

Discussant: Dr Lara Montesinos Coleman (Senior Lecturer and member of the Rights and Justice Research Centre, University of Sussex). Chair: Dr Robin Dunford (Senior Lecturer and member of the Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics, University of Brighton).