Sir, – I fear the NHS is being geared up for privatisation by stealth on a large scale.
Recently the Prime Minister appointed as a health adviser a woman who was head of Operose, the UK subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a large US health insurance provider.
Operose last month took over 37 doctors practices in London. This appears to be the favoured model.
Not only has it taken control of valuable public asset it will gain access to all the records of the 500,000 people covered by the practices.
The latter is a valuable resource for those wanting to sell drugs to the NHS and insurance to individuals.
We in Scotland who have public control of the NHS should not be smug about retaining the NHS in public hands.
The impact of privatisation south of the border will have huge implications for the way the NHS is run in Scotland.
Indeed, the Westminster Government refused repeatedly to put safeguards around the NHS in its recent Trade Act so it could well be a major bargaining chip in any trade negotiations and future deals.
Trade deals are a retained power within Westminster. Therefore anything agreed by the UK Government in terms of trade deals will override anything we want to do in Scotland including retaining public control of the NHS.
I, and many others, are grateful for what the NHS has achieved for us and our loved ones over the years. We should not allow it to be sold off for private profit.
Brian Batson.
Lour Road, Forfar.
Indy will give Labour a chance to govern
Sir, – Anas Sarwar says he does not believe in another referendum or Scottish independence.
I’m afraid I do not believe him. Mr Attlee’s 1945 landslide apart, it is practically impossible for Labour to form a government at Westminster without Scottish MPs, even more so now that their “Red Wall” in England has defected to the Tories and the isolationist Brexit madness.
That must be particularly galling for Mr Sarwar’s “branch office” who know in their hearts that, after independence, Scottish Labour will bounce back and quite quickly be in a position to win an election and form a Scottish government.
David Roche.
Hill House, Coupar Angus.
When will the PM be held up to scrutiny?
Sir, – When can we expect to see Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Tories, demanding Prime Minister Boris Johnson be subjected to eight hours of cross examination by all of the other political parties for the many dodgy dealings of the Conservative government?
Surely, he will also make it known in advance that he demands the resignation of Boris Johnson before learning the outcome of such an inquisition.
Mr Ross is an honest and honourable man so he cannot behave like a hypocrite by turning a blind eye to all of the many untruths, deceits and other actions by his Westminster overlords.
Harry Key.
Mid Street, Largoward.
Vaccine progress shows UK’s worth
Sir, – The latest Covid figures show that thanks to our efficient vaccination programme there is light at the end of the tunnel for Britain.
The seven-day new Covid cases rate for the UK is 15.6 cases per 100,000.
By comparison the figures for EU countries vary from Portugal on a low of 40.5 per 100,000 up to highs of 427 for Sweden and 428 for Cyprus.
EU countries of a similar population to Scotland vary from Finland, with three times our rate, up to Croatia with a rate almost 20 times higher.
Ireland is on an incidence of 56.8 per 100,000 which is more than 3.5 times our rate.
This success for Britain is down to the fact that being outside the EU gave us the flexibility to procure massive supplies of vaccine for ourselves rather than wait for the Commission, which both ordered late and failed to allow for a vaccine failing trials.
When will the nationalists learn that leaving the UK in order to rejoin the EU is not in our interests?
Otto Inglis.
Ansonhill, Crossgates.
