HEALTH WORKERS TURN GREEN AT FEARS LABOUR WILL PRIVATISE NHS

Fears Labour will privatise the NHS are driving health workers away from the party, a new analysis suggests.

Many are planning to vote Lib Dem or Green because of Wes Streeting's proposals to use the private sector to bring down waiting lists.

He has defended his plans saying to fail to do so would result in a “betrayal” of working-class patients who cannot afford to pay for care.

The shadow health secretary has also said his approach is “pragmatic but principled one” and accused “middle-class lefties” of risking patient care for the sake of ideological purity.

An analysis of social media conversations of 5,000 healthcare professionals by the consultancy Creation Healthcare found largely negative responses towards the health policy proposals of both the Conservative and Labour parties.

More than 80 per cent of posts referencing the Conservatives were judged to be negative in sentiment, but the proportion was similar, just under 70 per cent, for those referencing Labour.

Of the top most-shared posts which mentioned the election, just six per cent were positive about the potential of a new government.

And while 76 percent of these posts were against voting for the Conservatives, 18 per cent were against voting Labour.

One post read: “Wes [Streeting], we want better from you. Not more of the same please.”

Most of the negativity centred around fears about NHS privatisation.

Some warned it reflected the “greed” and “corruption” of the Conservative Party.

One suggested the Conservatives had long planned to “take away care” and “sell it back”.

Although discussed much less frequently, more than 90 per cent of posts referencing the Green Party or the Scottish Nationalist Party’s healthcare plans were positive.

One nurse posted he would be voting Green as he did not want to have “the privatisation of the NHS on his conscience”, while some saw the SNP manifesto as the “kind of manifesto many wanted Labour to deliver”.

Daniel Ghinn, Creation Healthcare’s CEO, said: “If the upcoming election was decided by healthcare professionals with the running of the NHS at the forefront of their minds, our research suggests that the makeup of MPs in the House of Commons after the 5 July would look very different to those projected by the national opinion polls.

“An analysis of the social media conversations of healthcare professionals offers an opportunity to identify some of the key factors behind this ambivalence. In this case, privatisation and issues with cancer treatment and diagnosis are evidently at the forefront of many healthcare professionals’ minds.

“Having a good understanding of these priorities is key for any government trying to work most efficiently with the health service. It becomes particularly pertinent given the current context in which the NHS finds itself. “

Labour has been approached for comment.

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2024-07-03T10:35:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd