Today, members of parliament are debating a bill that could undo some of the negative consequences of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, brought in by the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, which saw a huge reorganisation of the NHS towards privatisation. The National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill 2014-2015, which is being brought forward by Labour MP Clive Efford, proposes to repeal parts of the NHS reform and halt privatisation.
The Bill consists of 14 clauses, which can be seen here. It includes removing hospitals' ability to earn 49% of their income from private patients, which has been reported to have risen 10% since 2010. It also exempts the NHS from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would have allowed transnationals to bid for government spending on heath, causing a number of negative consequences (for more information, see my previous post: Stop TTIP).
The Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association are in favour of the Bill, but are MPs likely to back it?
UPDATE (23/11/2014)
The result of the debate for the Bill found it was backed by 241 votes to 18 that opposed. Those in favour included two Conservative and seven Lib Dem MPs, as well as newly elected UKIP MP Mark Reckless. However, as a private member's bill, it has very little chance of becoming a law.
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