Defend the NHS

Conference notes the ongoing major crisis developing in the NHS affecting all those in need of health care and recognising that the elderly and pensioners are massively affected by these cuts. Conference agrees that a major campaign is required to put a stop to the privatisation of the NHS and for the service to be reinvigorated with the required funding to meet the needs of all.

Conference agrees to campaign to end PFI in the health service and to bring health and social care back into public ownership with enough funding to end the crisis.

We resolve to demand a Northern Ireland wide NHS Reinstatement Bill to entirely remove market mechanisms from our NHS and to end austerity cuts. A Reinstatement Bill must:

• Reinstate the duty on government to provide key NHS services including hospitals, medical and nursing services, primary care, mental health and community services.
• Repeal the Donaldson and Bengoa reports which represent a blueprint for privatisation and rationing of NHS services.
• Reinstate the duty on government to provide adequate funding for frontline NHS services and staff ending austerity.
• Scrap the clinical commissioning groups and bring all health and social care services under one democratically-accountable public body.