Hawking-backed campaigners launch legal action over plans to ‘Americanise’ NHS

By Tess de la Mare12th December 2017News EnglandCommissioning, Courts / Justice, Government / Politics, News England, NHS

A campaign group backed by Professor Stephen Hawking has officially filed High Court papers in a bid to force the Government to hold a full public consultation into greater privatisation of the NHS.

The physicist announced on Friday he was putting his weight behind a campaign by JR4NHS to stop Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt introducing commercial companies to run parts of the health and social services.

Founded by three doctors and a university professor, JR4NHS say that the introduction of “accountable care organisations” (ACOs) will Americanise the NHS.

JR4NHS filed papers at the High Court on Monday demanding a public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny before the changes are introduced.

The campaigners say they fear the Government is trying to sneak the changes through “during the clamour of Brexit”.

Professor Hawking (pictured) previously said in a statement: “I am concerned that accountable care organisations are an attack on the fundamental principles of the NHS.”

“They have not been established by statute, and they appear to be being used for reducing public expenditure, for cutting services and for allowing private companies to receive and benefit from significant sums of public money for organising and providing services.

“I want the attention of the people of England to be drawn to what is happening and for those who are entrusted with responsibility for the NHS to account openly for themselves in public, and to be judged accordingly.”

On his Facebook page he wrote “the NHS must be protected from those who want to privatise it” and called on his followers to donate to the campaign’s crowdfunding campaign.

JR4NHS was founded by former consultant eye surgeon Dr Colin Hutchinson, public health professor and doctor Professor Allyson Pollock, Dr Graham Winyard CBE, a former medical director of NHS England, and public management professor Sue Richards.

On its page on Crowdjustice.com, JR4NHS says that ACOs will decide the boundary of what care is free and what has to be paid for and that they will be paid more if they save money.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “We strongly resist the misleading claims in this action; it is irresponsible scaremongering to suggest that ACOs are being used to support privatisation and harm the fundamental principles of the NHS. The NHS will remain a taxpayer-funded system free at the point of use. ACOs are simply about making care more joined-up between different health and care organisations.

“Our consultation on changes to support ACOs is entirely appropriate and lawful. We believe it is right that local NHS leaders and clinicians have the autonomy to decide the best solutions to improve care for the patients they know best – and any significant local changes are always subject to public consultation and due legal process.”