EveryDoctor

EveryDoctor   (Campaign)
Founder	Dr Julia Patterson

EveryDoctor is a doctor-led campaign group founded in 2019, and fighting for a better NHS:

"Working conditions are dire and UK doctors are burnt out. We’re excessively criticised in the media, let down by unions and stretched beyond capacity after the Government cut £30bn from the NHS.

"Our patients aren’t safe and we’re not safe either. That's why we need to come together to create a better NHS."

COVID-19

EveryDoctor grew during the COVID-19/Pandemic in the United Kingdom. In May 2021, EveryDoctor and the Good Law Project brought legal action against the British government in relation to COVID-19 PPE contracts during the first wave of the COVID-19/Pandemic, accusing the Department of Health and Social Care of unlawful procurement procedures and providing inadequate PPE supplies.

PFI debt

Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) were a method of financing public infrastructure projects via private partners; allowing governments to defer public spending (albeit at a much higher cost in the long run given the debt repayments) in effect creating a mortgage on the public sector.

Privatisation in the NHS

As The Canary reported previously, NHS privatisation is not something to warn against for the future – it’s already here. EveryDoctor has been able to present already public information in a way that’s easy to understand. The question for politicians, then, is why is it so hard to find this information? We know exactly why, because plenty of people evidently see their political careers as a way to gather connections from the private sector to further their own interests.

Dr Megan Smith, head of policy and NHS consultant anesthetist told The Canary:

Why are politicians allowed to forge links with the private sector, and who benefits from this situation? One thing is clear – NHS patients certainly don’t.

If we’re going to have an honest conversation about why the NHS is struggling so much, we need look no further than politicians more interested in their own welfare, and not the welfare of NHS patients.

MPs and private healthcare money

EveryDoctor is deeply worried by the significant sums of money passing from individuals and companies associated with the private healthcare sector to our politicians. Some of this money comes in the form of earnings, some of it is in the form of huge donations, and some comes as expensive hospitality offered to MPs. To illustrate - Tory Lee Anderson has received over £43,000 since the last election, LibDem Tim Farron £25,000 and Labour Party Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting over £193,000. EveryDoctor is therefore petitioning PM Rishi Sunak as follows:

To: Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak

From: [Your Name]

Dear Rishi Sunak,

We are writing to you today because we are deeply concerned about the links between many MPs and the private healthcare sector.

Research undertaken by the campaigning organisation EveryDoctor has revealed the huge donations, earnings and expensive hospitality which has been accepted by many politicians since the last General Election in 2019.

The NHS is in the worst state it has ever been in, with 7.3 million people on waiting lists in England alone, and the terrifying situation this winter involving ambulance delays. Many members of the public called for ambulances which were extremely delayed or did not arrive at all.

Our politicians make important decisions about the NHS and are elected to serve their constituents. We do not feel that it is in the interests of constituents for MPs to be allowed to forge these links with the private healthcare sector.

We are therefore calling for a ban on MPs receiving donations from companies and individuals with links to the private healthcare sector, earnings from the private healthcare sector, and a ban on accepting hospitality too.

The EveryDoctor team would be happy to meet with you urgently to discuss this situation.

We await your prompt response.

Yours,

The EveryDoctor Team

Along with the undersigned:

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