26th April 2007

Green Councillor Bernard Little will be joining the May 1st “Keep our NHS public” demonstration in Sheffield.

Cllr Little said, “The Green Party supports the campaign to keep the NHS public. Our health service is being handed to unaccountable multinational companies, while front line basic services are being cut."

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals are suffering year on year funding cuts.
They are buying in agency nurses instead of employing their own and patients are left unattended because there are too few of them.
Meanwhile, over half newly trained therapists, and psychologists are unable to find a job and specialist doctors are being laid off. Pay rises have not kept up with inflation so NHS employees are unable to find decent and affordable homes. Spending millions on Private Finance Initiatives will cost us more in the long run and hand over the NHS to companies only interested in making a profit.

The Patient Choice agenda is fragmenting the health service. The only people with a choice are the ones able to afford to make that choice.

The Green party want a fully integrated health system which is properly funded from the public purse and accessible to all."

ENDS

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