Conservative NHS group want ‘private wings’ of hospitals
A Conservative group of health workers headed by a Government minister has called for a two-tier NHS, including mandatory private health insurance for “people who can afford it”, i can reveal.
The Conservative Friends of NHS (CFONHS) group, whose president and patron is health minister Maria Caulfield, has also advocated reforms that would see “private wings in NHS hospitals”.
The group – which describes itself as a group of “doctors, paramedics, nurses, allied health professionals and other healthcare workers who support Conservative Party” – has also championed the “great” profit-making opportunities in private healthcare.
On its website, the group’s founder and chair, Dr Ashraf Chohan, is pictured alongside a host of senior Conservatives, including Rishi Sunak, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, as well as her predecessor Steve Barclay.
Other patrons listed include Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott, and James Cleverly – although the Home Secretary is listed as “James Claverly”.
In social media posts, the group has championed a twin-track healthcare system, and suggested that “insurance-based private healthcare” should be “mandatory for people who can afford it”.
It has also pushed a policy that “all high taxpayers must have insurance by 2025” and warned that the Government must “save [the] NHS for those who can’t afford private care”.
In one tweet from last year, the group said: “Using free NHS by rich is unfair to poor. All high tax payers must have insurance by 2025. HMRC should consider insurence [sic] premium as personal expense. Love NHS. MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE.”
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In another it stated: “We DO NOT support outsourcing but certainly support private wings with in NHS hospitals for those who have private Insurence [sic] to decrease pressure on NHS. NHS staff also get some more money.”
Another post on the site said: “No country in the world can provide 100% free top class competitive health facility to all in this century. That’s why NHS is struggling.
“Now to make it work steps are needed like parallel private sector for those who can afford to pay insurence [sic] premium. NHS itself needs reforms.”
CFONHS says it provides the Tory party with candidates in elections, particularly in marginal seats, while supporting the Conservative Party by “campaigning, fundraising and policy-making”.
The group’s Instagram page shows members out campaigning with the likes of Ms Atkins and Conservative Party chair, Richard Holden.
Mr Chohan describes himself as an ambassador to the Leaders’ Group of the Conservative Party, which sees wealthy Tory donors that have handed more than £50,000 to the party invited to drinks receptions and meetings with the entire cabinet, including the prime minister.
Last week, Mr Sunak said he would turn to private healthcare if a family member requiring surgery was stuck on a long NHS waiting list. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would not go private.
Wes Streeting, the shadow Health Secretary, has said his party will utilise the private sector to help clear the NHS backlog.
But he described the need for patients to turn to private health care as a “second tax”.
In a statement he said: “If the Conservatives are given another five years in charge, waiting lists will hit 10 million, and more and more patients will be forced to pay to go private to get treated on time.
“That’s the choice for patients under the Tories: pain or private? Patients face double taxation on health: they pay their taxes, and then pay the Tory health tax if they want to be treated on time.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “We can completely rule out these polices. They are not Conservative Party policies.”
i contacted both CFONHS for comment.