CAMPAIGNERS say the fight is on to save the NHS from privatisation, but incoming health bosses claim they are its most passionate supporters.

The new West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was this week given the green light by government to press ahead with plans for a GP-led service from next April as part of national changes.

But last week more than 20 members of national campaign group 38 Degrees met in a Christleton pub to agree a strategy to slow what they see as an inevitable process of NHS privatisation and fragmentation ushered in by the coalition.

Members including a retired GP, health workers, patients and trade unionists want the CCG to commit to buying services from NHS providers ahead of private companies wherever possible.

Chairman Dr Huw Charles-Jones, in response to these arguments, told the Chronicle: “All of us working in the CCG are passionate about the NHS.

“People worry about the privatisation of hospital services. I think for the NHS, the bigger risk is general practice. I think that is more of a risk and is certainly something in this area we would be strongly resisting.

“Once you get a private provider controlling the gate into the NHS, it’s very powerful. They are dealing with most of the patients.”

Huw, a GP at Lache Health Centre, and chief officer designate Alison Lee are tasked with finding a £6m reduction in the annual bill as this area’s contribution toward reducing the NHS bill by £15-20bn with a question mark over the impact on jobs.

Their aim is to care for the growing elderly population at home, partly through better working with volunteers, to prevent expensive hospital admissions.

A board including GPs and lay people will run the CCG with accountability to the National Commissioning Board and scrutiny from councillors.

But 38 Degrees has raised concerns there are no representatives from the patient participation groups attached to each of the 37 GP practices across the district.

The pressure group, which aims to meet local NHS bosses, also fears financial consultants advising CCGs will not only sap finite resources but will recommend going down the private sector route.

Jean Hardiman-Smith told the meeting: “Where privatisation has been tried it has proved to be extremely detrimental to patients’ interests, apart from the odd occasion.

“Hospitals have been closed down and what we need to remember is, when a private company comes in, the shareholders are the people they are accountable to, not patients and not the general public.

“So, privatisation of the National Health Service, what we are looking at here, is actually a disaster.”