National Delegate Conference 17-20 June
2008
We must defend the NHS for the benefit of future generations
Mick McGahey |
by Kate Ramsden
UNISON will fight to keep the NHS free at the point of need and
funded by direct taxation, and will oppose any attempt to privatise
health services.
Conference celebrated the successes of the health service and NHS
staff as it celebrates its 60th birthday.
It pledged to campaign for an NHS, based on the involvement and
empowerment of staff and users and for non-market approaches to
health service modernisation.
Mick McGahey, Lothian Health, told conference, "The NHS is not
bricks and mortar. It is not about who manages it. It's about the
staff who work in it, who provide the services to patients and who
are dedicated to it.”
Condemning the squandering of public money on PFI and other privatisation,
he added, "Those who agreed PFI contracts that ring-fenced vast
quantities of money to the public sector - £44 million in our case
and rising - should be made accountable for these actions. Where
else would they get away with it?"
Also supporting the motion, Lilian Macer, Scotland Region and
Health Executive Chair said that the defining features of the NHS
are just as relevant today as they were in 1948.
"Scotland is a country that has often led the world in public health,
social reform and the development of medical science, but we continue
to suffer from relatively poor health by Western European standards,"
she said. She welcomed the Scottish Government's stated opposition
to using public money to help the private sector compete with the
NHS.
"This is in line with the Scottish Health Committee's aims and
objectives to see the delivery of health care on the basis of collaboration
and cooperation rather than division and competition." She warned
conference however, of the challenges still faced by the NHS with
an ageing population many of whom have multiple and complex needs,
and a growth in long term conditions.
"Our members have been central to the massive improvements brought
about since 1948 in the population's health and the quality of care
delivered. Now is a time to celebrate but it is also a time to ensure
we maintain UNISON's profile as a rigorous defender of the NHS so
that future generations will also benefit from its care."
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Scotland's
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