ED MILLIBAND'S LETTER TO MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS

Ed Miliband has written to every member of the House of Lords about the Health and Social Care Bill. This is the text of his letter.

Dear Member of the House of Lords

I am taking the unusual step of writing to you and all your fellow peers to share my very great fear for the future of the NHS. I know you are aware that the decisions you have to make over the next few weeks on the Health and Social Care Bill are of huge significance to the NHS and to the country. I can think of few times where the House of Lords has had a role of greater importance.

As it stands, I believe this Bill would undermine the quality and ethos of our NHS – especially Part 3, which seeks to import the model of the privatised utilities into healthcare. I fear it will lead to a fragmented service, pitting doctor against doctor and hospital against hospital, undermining the culture of co-operation and collaboration that has made our NHS so great. The reorganisation proposed by the Bill as it stands would also cost a vast amount of money – money that would be better spent protecting the frontline, such as the thousands of nursing posts set to be lost in this Parliament. It is also a matter of great concern that this Bill and its underlying intentions were hidden from the public before the general election.

I know the Labour team in the Lords, led by Glenys Thornton and Phil Hunt, are already working with many of you on this issue. On behalf of my Party, I want to extend this offer to peers of all parties and of none: we will work with you to stop this Bill damaging the NHS.

Recent weeks and months have shown just how widely the concerns about this Bill are shared – not just among patients and the public, but also among doctors, nurses and other NHS staff. The Government would have us believe that those who oppose this Bill are ‘vested interests’. I think that is deeply insulting to people who have devoted their lives to working in the NHS and care about its future.

I want you to know that Labour has made an offer to put party differences aside and work with the Government on reform objectives we all share, such as greater clinical involvement in commissioning and the funding of social care. But ultimately, the NHS is too important to stand back and let this Bill damage it. I hope we can all work together to protect the future of our National Health Service.

Yours sincerely




Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP