A PARLIAMENTARY motion to stop the “privitisation of the NHS”

has been backed by Bolton South East MP, Yasmin Qureshi.

New regulations introduced last month by Government ministers could force doctors to open up the NHS to the private sector, leading to fears that services could become fragmented.

This is despite promises given to clinicians and MPs during the Health and Social Care Bill’s passage through the House of Commons that there would be no push towards competition.

Adding her signature to Early Day Motion 1104, set down by Labour leader Ed Miliband in Parliament, Ms Qureshi said: “It is disgraceful that despite all their assurances the Government is hell-bent on privatising the NHS. They have lied to the doctors whose job it is to commission services by forcing them to put services out to tender.

“By trying to sneak in these regulations by using a Statutory Instrument instead of the legislation debated in Parliament it shows how far they are willing to go to wreck the NHS.

“To the dozens of people who have written to me, I will fight, with my colleagues in the Labour Party, to have these regulations removed and to save our NHS.”