George asks doctors: “Will patients come before profits in reformed NHS?”

West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly MP for the St Ives Constituency, Andrew George, will be the guest speaker at a special British Medical Association event in Truro this evening (Thursday 21st February 2013).

Mr George, who is a member of the Commons Health Select Committee, has entitled his speech “Protecting patients…from yet another Government redisorganisation of the NHS”. The BMA Cornwall Division meeting will take place at the Knowledge Spa in Truro at 6pm.

Mr George recently proposed the introduction of a “patients before profits” test for the NHS to ensure that patients’ interests are given a higher priority than generating profits for private healthcare providers.

Mr George raised the proposal with the Secretary of State for Health, Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, during a debate in the Commons in November last year.

Mr George said: “The NHS is going through its biggest re-organisation since it was established 64 years ago at the same time as seeking the greatest cost savings of any health system anywhere in the world.

“With the NHS being divided into different businesses and profit making companies seeking rich pickings from the easier and more profitable bits of the NHS it’s no wonder concerns about fragmentation of services and profit being placed above patient care are widespread.”