Wales NHS to be ‘ring fenced’ from privatisation, says Unite
11th March 2009
Plans to reform NHS bureaucracy in Wales will mean that the
service is ‘ring fenced’ from the privatisation tide threatening
the health service in England, Unite the union has said.
Unite welcomed the statement by Edwina Hart, minister for health
and social services in the Welsh Assembly government on plans to
streamline the NHS 'Local Health Boards' from 22 to just
seven.
Steve Sloan, Unite’s lead officer for the health sector in Wales,
said today (Wednesday, 11 March): "The reforms now taking shape,
which we welcomed when they were first floated last summer, herald
the prospect that there is a coherent strategy for the future of
the NHS in Wales as a whole.
"And it will mean that the privatisation agenda that is
gathering apace in England and threatens to erode services there
won’t cross Offa’s Dyke. Wales will be ring fenced from the
excesses of the privatisation experiment.
"The other side of the equation is that these reforms will
contribute greatly to improved healthcare for patients and clients
in Wales, which has some of the highest pockets of deprivation in
terms of health indices in the UK."
Unite, which embraces the Community Practitioners’ and Health
Visitors’ Association, also welcomed the suggestion of a
'Professional Forum' which will bring the professions in each
'Local Health Boards' into one group. Officials are doing more work
on the best model for these forums.
ENDS
NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS:
Unite has 6,000 members in Wales covering all areas of the
health service.
For further information, please ring: Steve Sloan 07768 931260;
David Fleming, national officer, Health 07798 531013, Obi Amadi,
lead professional officer, policy & external affairs 07780 955
936, Shaun Noble, communications officer (health sector) 020 7420
8951
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