In a recent article in the Derry Journal, private health enthusiast Dr Tom Black asks, “is the NHS finished?” Peter McGuire challenges the narrative presented by Dr Black and his question
13th September 2025
Founder of the NHS, Nye Bevan, wrote that there will always be an NHS whilst we have people willing to fight for it. The Workers Party will not be found wanting and will defend the core principles of the NHS. The NHS was introduced in 1948 when there was very little money in the public purse, following the second world war. Yet that newly elected Labour government not only set up the NHS, but they built public housing, free education, and introduced the National Assistance Service.
DR BLACK’S MYTH NUMBER ONE: THE NHS IS UNAFFORDABLE
Dr Black argues that the NHS now costs £200 billion, which is not enough, and the government clearly is not in a position to pay more.
The government does not have money? It certainly does. It just doesn’t have the political will to spend it money saving lives and creating healthy citizens. They were prepared to cut the welfare budget to fund warfare. The government have no difficulty spending money to buy the trappings of war, billions spent on ordering jet fighters that can drop nuclear bombs, while becoming involved in proxy wars to suit the USA and the European Union.
They could tax the wealthy, and introduce wind fall taxes on big corporations who rake in trillions in profits. But in the absence of pressure from organised workers, they won’t.
DR BLACK’S MYTH NUMBER TWO: A HEALTHCARE SYSTEM BASED ON ABILITY TO PAY WOULD BENEFIT THE MOST VULNERABLE.
Dr Black has been calling for a ‘two tier healthcare system’ which he now calls ‘a hybrid system’ for years. He argues that the system in place in the republic of Ireland should be introduced in NI. He claims that the republic’s health system is superior as those who can afford to pay to see the doctor and other services would bring more money into system and the more vulnerable and deprived populations get a better service than in Northern Ireland.
The Workers Party says that begs the question of why the healthcare system in the Republic was such a major issue for the public during the general election campaign. According to research from 2018, “unusually in a high income country and European context, Ireland ‘is the only Western European country that does not offer universal coverage of primary care’, with 60% of the population paying out of pocket on average Euros 52 per GP visit and two thirds of the population paying up to Euros 144 per month for drugs as well as paying for other primary care services. In March 2025 The Sunday Business Post declared that State spending on private healthcare has grown 700% since ‘Sláintecare’ reforms were initiated in the South.
Dr Black also says staff including Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have left the NHS and went to work in the Republic, and they tell him “it is twice the pay for half the work”. The claim itself us dubious but did it ever occur to Dr Black that there might be less work because people cannot afford to see a doctor or attend emergency departments at hospitals?
When will doctors senior managers and politicians realise privatisation is not the solution to our problems in the health service. The Workers Party will continue to defend and fight for the founding principles of the NHS. Free at the point of need regardless of class, colour, or creed.