THE NHS is “a catastrophe” and should be privatised, a significant Tory donor and peer has said.
Appearing on the BBC’s World at One, Jon Moynihan – who has donated a reported total of around £700,000 to the Conservative Party – also said he did not think the health service should be free for everyone at the point of use.
Moynihan, who is known as Baron Moynihan of Chelsea in the House of Lords, had been asked how the UK Government should address the challenges in the NHS.
He said: “I heard an assumption there, which is that what is needed is more money to sort the NHS out.
“I worked in America in the 1980s and came back in 1992 and everybody was going on about our wonderful NHS, what a fantastic, world-beating, our beloved NHS. I was absolutely flabbergasted.
“The NHS is a catastrophe, and people are beginning to understand that. What do you expect if you have a basically socialistic, communist-style nationalised entity?”
Asked what he’d have instead, Moynihan said: “Privatise the damn thing.”
The Tory peer denied he was arguing for a US-style healthcare model, instead saying: “Move to a German model.
“It's got half a dozen insurance funds. They all compete with each other to get the best medical outcomes, and they get far better medical outcomes.”
Asked if the NHS should remain free at the point of use, one of its founding principles, the Conservative said: “Why isn't it health outcomes that are the important thing rather than the socialistic slogans like ‘free at the point of use’?
Asked about how the poorest people could access the health service, he suggested they could have some kind of free insurance, adding: “They'll get insurance. I don't see that it should be free at the point of use for everybody.”
The Labour-run UK Government has made clear its plans to bring more private services into the NHS, with now-Health Secretary Wes Streeting saying he would be “holding the door wide open”.
