BMA takes part in publicly owned NHS rally
Doctors have been invited to show their support for a publicly funded NHS at a march and rally.
The ‘Our NHS is 70’ event, in which the BMA is taking part, is committed to:
- a publicly owned NHS that is free for all
- proper funding and staffing
- support for NHS workers
- world-class services for every community.
The event on 30 June will see crowds assembling in Portland Place, London, and then marching to Downing Street.
BMA treasurer Andrew Dearden said: ‘We are proud to be part of this event, which celebrates the vital contribution of the NHS towards this country’s health and economic well-being, and makes an urgent call for action so that it is protected for future generations.
‘We must stand up for the founding principles of the health service, a service free at the point of delivery, against the tide of privatisation which has done so much to harm it in recent years.’
Health Campaigns Together, one of the campaigning bodies organising the event, said in a statement: ‘As the NHS approaches its 70th birthday on 5 July, there is plenty for us to celebrate and defend.
‘Despite 30 years of repeated attempts by Government “reforms” to fragment and distort it, and to divert a growing share of the NHS budget into the coffers of profit-seeking private companies, it remains at core what it was in 1948: the world’s first universal, publicly funded healthcare system, delivering care on the basis of clinical need, not ability to pay.’
It added that privatisation, funding freezes, insufficient staffing and no real-terms pay increases for staff had damaged the health service.
Participants will assemble on 30 June at 12pm at Portland Place.