A new political party has been launched by doctors to fight the changes to the NHS which they see as damaging to the healthcare system. National Health Action is set to challenge the privatisation of the NHS and the fragmentation of care accelerated by the Health and Social Care Act.
The launch was reported by the BMA, which said the new party "...will fight to repeal the act, and campaign to ensure that clinical commissioning groups have the freedom to choose local NHS services."
According to the BMA, the party intends to fight in up to 50 Parliamentary constituencies, including those of the PM, former health secretary Andrew Lansley, current health secretary Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor George Osborne and schools minister David Laws. It will also take part in local elections.
In a welcome message on its website, the party states: "The National Health Action party was formed by a group of like-minded healthcare professionals, who strongly support the original principles of the NHS and are shocked by the failure of the democratic process as demonstrated by the appearance and the passage through parliament of the Health and Social Care Act.
"We believe the resulting legislation will destroy the NHS in England as an effective, efficient health system fair to all citizens and patients. It will transform a cost-effective public system of health care into one that will be more expensive, wasteful and unequal, whilst diminishing levels of public trust and corroding standards of ethical behaviour."
The party is led by consultant oncologist Clive Peedell (pictured) – who is a BMA council member – and retired consultant Richard Taylor, who was previously elected independent MP for Wyre Forest after campaigning to protect services at Kidderminster Hospital.
Dr Peedell said: "The government promised no top-down reorganisation and said there would be no further privatisation of the NHS, but that is precisely what we are seeing at the moment."
Dr Taylor added: "Everybody is fed up with the way politics works at the moment so we're going to shake that up."