A campaign group has said that politicians shouldn’t be involved in the NHS. The claim was made just weeks before the general election by Helen Evans of Nurses for Reform who believe that the health service should be depoliticised. This comes just at the time when the NHS is becoming one of the central debates for campaigning politicians yet again, who are looking to persuade the general public that they are the ones that can bring those always needed improvements to the running of the country’s healthcare system. Nurses for Reform are in favour of drastic changes rather than the more subtle policies being suggested by the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties and think that by putting the NHS in the hands of the independent sector would mean that patients needs would be properly met.


The proposals, outlined by the Nurses for Reform director Helen Evans in the Telegraph earlier this month, suggest that health provision should be handed over to the control of private companies. That includes both profit and not-for-profit ownership. This idea is based around the controversial concept of patients as consumers, but this has been proven successful in the private health care industry already. Private hospitals are among the highest quality treatment centres in the UK, and they lack the budget restrictions that limit much of what the NHS is able to do. Many people take out a private medical insurance policy to give them affordable access to private healthcare so they can avoid the waiting times and other problems that have come about as a result.