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| March celebrates NHS core values | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Up to 4,000 members of the union Unison are to march through London as part of a campaign to keep competition out of the National Health Service. | |
| The event, entitled "We Love The NHS", is to celebrate and protect the health service's core values, said Unison's head of health, Karen Jennings. | The event, entitled "We Love The NHS", is to celebrate and protect the health service's core values, said Unison's head of health, Karen Jennings. |
| Mrs Jennings said a health service that is free at the point of need and paid for by taxation should be cherished. | Mrs Jennings said a health service that is free at the point of need and paid for by taxation should be cherished. |
| She said bringing the private sector into the NHS threatened these values. | She said bringing the private sector into the NHS threatened these values. |
| 'Precious resource' | 'Precious resource' |
| Mrs Jennings told BBC News: "We're coming up to its 60th anniversary, and we're very keen to get the message across that we've got quite an extraordinary health service in this country. | Mrs Jennings told BBC News: "We're coming up to its 60th anniversary, and we're very keen to get the message across that we've got quite an extraordinary health service in this country. |
| "One that is free at the point of use, one that is equal to all that need to use it, is paid for by direct taxation, and is probably one of the most efficient health services in the world. | "One that is free at the point of use, one that is equal to all that need to use it, is paid for by direct taxation, and is probably one of the most efficient health services in the world. |
| She said despite criticisms by politicians and the press, surveys have shown that the vast majority of people who use the NHS are very satisfied with it. | |
| She said: "Many, many comparable countries, their citizens really fear having to pay for their healthcare and whether they can afford it and we don't have these worries here. | She said: "Many, many comparable countries, their citizens really fear having to pay for their healthcare and whether they can afford it and we don't have these worries here. |
| You fragment the NHS if you make it too competitive Karen Jennings, Unison's head of health | You fragment the NHS if you make it too competitive Karen Jennings, Unison's head of health |
| "We've got something that is a very precious resource here and we shouldn't undermine the ethos that exists, and the founding principles on which the NHS is based." | "We've got something that is a very precious resource here and we shouldn't undermine the ethos that exists, and the founding principles on which the NHS is based." |
| Mrs Jennings said she was "very worried" about plans by the Conservatives to introduce more competition into the health service. | Mrs Jennings said she was "very worried" about plans by the Conservatives to introduce more competition into the health service. |
| She said: "The big fear that staff working on the NHS have, and many, many local communities, is that you fragment the NHS if you make it too competitive." | She said: "The big fear that staff working on the NHS have, and many, many local communities, is that you fragment the NHS if you make it too competitive." |