People Before Profit motion to February full meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council calls for gouging of the health service for profit to be halted.
People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin said,"Stormont's main parties are facilitating the destruction of the Health Service. Over £300 million was spent on private contractors in just the last five years. This money should be used to improve services, cut waiting times and pay health and social care staff properly.
"The trade union-led demand for Stormont to halt the destructive privatisation of the health service comes at a critical moment. The continued outsourcing of healthcare undermines the quality, accessibility, and accountability of treatment for patients whilst putting an unbearable financial strain on health budgets.
"Ghoulish private healthcare multinationals are cherry-picking the parts of our health service that they see as most profitable with the support of Stormont's main parties. A process must begin to untangle our health service from the mess of privatisation that allows private companies to line their pockets.
"Ministers will make the case that they simply cannot afford to remove the private sector and fund services directly. These short-term fixes are being permanently embedded and turning health into a massive site for profiteering.
"People Before Profit reject this argument. It is clear from the money being spent that private sector companies are a massive drain on scarce resources.
"We stand with trade unions and all those advocating for a fully public, properly funded and accountable health service.
"My motion calls on Derry City and Strabane District Council to support the campaign demanding a halt to privatisation and profiteering in the health service."
PBP motion submitted for February full Council meeting:
Council is alarmed at the more than £302 million paid to private sector providers by the combined Health and Social Care Trusts between April 2020 and April 2025.
Council agrees this scale of spending is draining capacity from our health and social care system.
Council is alarmed at the Stormont Executive's increasing reliance on a private health sector that cherry-picks lower-risk, healthier and wealthier patients creating a two-tier system while health inequalities worsen.
Council will write to the Stormont Executive parties to make clear our opposition to the diversion of public funding into short-term private sector fixes that cause further destabilisation by reducing resources and capacity for public services.
Council will write to the Health Minister demanding an end to the further embedding of public-private partnerships that encourage private healthcare services.
Council will write to the Western Trust requesting a breakdown of spending on private healthcare in the period between April 2020 and April 2025.
Council will write to UNISON in support of its campaign to stop privatisation of the health service and will invite Kellie Turtle, UNISON NI Policy Officer, and journalist Tommy Greene, to a deputation on the crisis facing the health service while private healthcare profits surge.'