Sharon has added her support for the national ‘All together for the NHS' campaigning day.

Health workers and service users across the country are using April 1 to co-ordinate a series of events and protests to highlight their concerns about the Government's plans for the NHS. This includes a demonstration outside Sunderland Royal Hospital at 12.30, led by local UNISON members.

Campaigners fear that the Health and Social Care Bill, which is currently working its way through Parliament, will cost billions of pounds to implement and paves the way for privatisation of huge swathes of the health service, putting jobs and patient care at risk.

Sharon said: "What this Tory-led Government plans to do to our NHS is disgraceful. Andrew Lansley is taking a huge gamble with the well-being of patients and the livelihoods of dedicated and hard-working NHS staff.

"What is worse is that he has absolutely no mandate for doing so; both Conservatives and Lib Dems promised no reorganisation before the election, yet now they are in power they are embarking on a mission to fragment and privatise vast swathes of a system that many of my constituents rely on.

"This is not wanted by patients or health professionals, and I hope that the protests today show Ministers that they need to go back to the drawing board or scrap this rotten Bill altogether."

Sharon Hodgson << Go back to Sharon Hodgson's Home Page.

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Sharon Hodgson MP
House of Commons,
London SW1A 0AA

E-mail: hodgsons@parliament.uk

Constituency Office Tel. 0191 417 2000.