Royal College of Nursing Press Release
“We want a cast-iron guarantee that TTIP will not leave the NHS vulnerable to privatisation through the backdoor” – RCN warns of trade deal’s impact on the health service
> The NHS needs to be protected from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has declared today.
> The RCN warns that the NHS and all publicly funded health care will be at increased risk of privatisation unless health services are explicitly exempted from TTIP, a major international trade deal currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States.
>Uncertainty over TTIP’s impact on the NHS is a growing source of anxiety among health workers – with more than 97% of RCN members at its annual Congress voting to support campaigning against the inclusion of health services in the trade deal.
> The RCN has now announced that it is writing to the Government and to all of the United Kingdom’s MEPs to express its concern regarding TTIP’s implications for the NHS and future health policy. It is calling for complete transparency in the TTIP negotiation process and for politicians to make sure that the NHS is protected from the consequences of the deal.
> TTIP will remove trade barriers between the EU and US. If health services are not exempted from TTIP then the deal could result in increased health service privatisation and undermine the UK’s ability to maintain the NHS in the public sector. There are fears that the trade deal may lead to US corporations having the right to directly sue the UK Government if its policies undermine their profits, as could happen if a future Government decided to reverse marketisation measures in the health service.
> Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, said: “The NHS is our country’s most cherished institution, but the Government has failed to make clear how the health service will be protected from the proposed trade deal between the EU and US.
> “Health workers, patients, and the public want a cast-iron guarantee that TTIP will not leave the NHS vulnerable to privatisation through the backdoor. Any new trade agreement between the EU and the US must not include health services.
> “It’s also a crucial issue of national sovereignty and democracy that the UK government retains the right to change existing legislation in relation to health services without fear of legal challenge from business interests.
> “Politicians in the UK and in the EU must do more to demonstrate that they’ve taken these concerns on board and give assurances that TTIP is not going to open the NHS up to greater privatisation and the increased risk of legal challenge.”
> > > > Notes to editors:
1. Further information on the RCN’s position on TTIP can be found at:www.rcn.org.uk/__data/
2. More details on the TTIP debate and vote at RCN Congress 2014 can be found at:www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/
3. For further information, please contact the RCN Media Office on 020 7647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visitwww.rcn.org.uk/
4. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape health care policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.
