Stephen Hawking to take NHS England and Jeremy Hunt to court
Campaign group says health system shake-up opens door to privatisation
Physicist Stephen Hawking and a group of health campaigners have won permission to pursue a court challenge to Jeremy Hunt’s plans to restructure NHS England.
Hawking and the campaigners, who use the name JR4NHS, argue that the proposals could lead to a US-style privatisation of the health service. They also claim the Health Secretary’s plans are so far-reaching that an Act of Parliament is required, allowing MPs and Lords to scrutinise the proposed changes.
Hunt’s proposals could “allow commercial companies to run health and social services across a whole region”, says The Independent. Responsibility for patients in these regions would be held by new healthcare overseers called Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although a High Court judge has granted permission for JR4NHS to pursue a judicial review, there is no cap on the legal costs that the group would have to pay if they lost the case. The campaigners are said to be considering their next steps. A crowdfunding page has raised more than £150,000 for legal costs.
The Department of Health and Social Care dismissed the group’s case as “irresponsible scaremongering”, the BBC says.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Should blood donors be paid?
The Explainer Financial rewards would help fill NHS shortfall but bring risk of contamination and exploitation, WHO warns
By The Week UK Published
-
UK gynaecological care crisis: why thousands of women are left in pain
The Explainer Waiting times have tripled over the past decade thanks to lack of prioritisation or funding for women's health
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
A 'transformative' gene therapy for haemophilia B
The Explainer Costly treatment that could be 'truly life-changing' for patients with rare blood disorder gets funding boost
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Infected blood scandal: will justice be served?
Today's Big Question Government apologises for 'decades-long moral failure' and promises £10bn compensation but true accountability may take far longer
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Immunotherapy and hay fever
The Explainer Research shows that the treatment could provide significant relief from symptoms for many hay fever sufferers
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The pros and cons of universal health care
Pros and Cons A medical system that serves everyone comes with its own costs, and they're not only financial
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Last updated
-
Martha's Rule: patients given right to urgent second opinion
The Explainer Hospitals in England will launch new scheme that will allow access to a rapid treatment review
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The contaminated blood scandal
The Explainer Widely regarded as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS, the public inquiry is due to publish its report in May
By The Week UK Published