Well, Mr. Godsiff has been busy, the forthcoming election is clearly concentrating minds..
1. There is no question that private hospitals should have financial responsibility for complications, which they have caused. However, for difficulties which may have arisen anyway, as a consequence of a patient's condition, they are as entitled as anyone else to have NHS treatment, if their private cover does not allow, assuming they have normal NHS rights. Effectively, they will have paid twice for treatment & may have actually saved the NHS money & a place on the waiting list.
2. How does he know it is 'impossible' for private hospitals to make a profit? Where are his facts? Presumably, if this were the case, they wouldn't exist. Like private schools, they are there because there is profit & demand from those not satisfied with state provision. Considering the ever-increasing costs, waste & inefficiency of the NHS, it would be incredible if privately-run hospitals could not make improvements.
3. Whilst criticizing the safety record of private hospitals, Mr. Godsiff ignores the horror & disaster of Stafford (patients drinking from water vases, etc.) which happened under Labour's watch, together with the ongoing mess of Labour's Welsh NHS.
4. He describes the NHS as 'extremely cost-effective'. - Just too ludicrous for comment. He talks of 'money wasted on fattening greedy, incompetent corporations'. This could just as easily be a description of the NHS, with managers & consultants earning hundreds of thousands of pounds, vast sums wasted on temporary staff, staff made redundant, then re-hired at exorbitant rates, etc.
5. Mr. Godsiff should reconsider his attacks on private Companies & profit. These Companies drive our economy, pay our salaries & pensions. Also, MP's are very eager to take directorships with these 'greedy, incompetent corporations, whenever they can get their greedy, incompetent mitts on them.
HearFromYourMP