HEALTH campaigners are demanding the next government re-creates a “People’s NHS” cleansed of parasitic privateers, staffed by a well-paid workforce and dedicated to the eradication of health inequalities.

Responding to the announcement of a July 4 general election, Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) called for a “sea change” away from government policies which cause more than 250 avoidable deaths a week and record waiting lists of more than seven million.

An estimated 20 per cent of the NHS has been privatised with tens of thousands of ancillary jobs such as cleaners, porters, caterers and security handed to profiteers.

Low pay and increased workloads have seen a staff exodus leaving the NHS short of 120,000 workers including more than 40,000 nurses.

KONP said that a collapse in social care had left thousands unnecessarily stuck in hospital, and more patients arriving in A&E due to a lack of community health appointments. 

“General practice is on its knees and NHS dentistry is extremely hard to access,” the campaign said.

“Over 250 people are dying avoidably every single week in emergency departments or at home waiting for ambulances that take hours to arrive due to delays in accessing treatment in a system with 120,000 staff vacancies.”

KONP said mothers and babies are dying avoidably because of understaffed and underfunded maternity units.

“NHS staffing is in crisis with wages and working conditions having been driven down over the last decade, resulting in a retention and recruitment crisis and an epidemic of mental ill health among the workforce,” with “significant impacts on patient safety.”

KONP co-chairman Dr Tony O'Sullivan said: “Keep Our NHS Public will be highlighting the record of those in government and asking voters to select those who will best support a public and well-funded NHS, and move to establish a publicly funded national care, support and independent living service.

“This requires a fundamental change in perspective — one that regards the funding of public services as an investment in human well-being and an underpinning of a productive economy.

“Good public services maximise the ability of people to participate in society and a productive economy — they are not simply a cost to be grudgingly accepted.”