Oxford Labour has joined the campaign to unite the country in a call on the Government to drop its unwanted and damaging Health and Social Care Bill.

The Drop the Bill campaign aims to show the full scale of opposition to the Government’s plans, uniting patients, NHS professionals and members of the public.

Labour MP for Oxford East, Andrew Smith, said: "The coalition government is planning the biggest re-organisation of the NHS since it began in 1948.

"The Health and Social Care Bill is completely unnecessary, unwanted, wasteful and damaging – and threatens to end the NHS as we know it. The country did not vote for this and local doctors, nurses and patients have already expressed huge concerns at the plans.

"The coalition government’s plans will break up the NHS as a national public service, establishing a full-scale market in the NHS based on the model of the privatised utilities, with a new economic regulator enforcing competition law on the NHS for the first time which not only risks a "postcode lottery" of health services but promises to enforce it.

"I have received a vast number of letters and emails from my constituents who are totally opposed to these changes and I am proud to stand by my Labour colleagues in speaking out and campaigning against the coalition government’s plans.

"I urge people to sign Labour’s online petition at DropTheBill.com to show their opposition to these plans."

At the campaign launch Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham MP, said: "At a time when the NHS is facing the biggest financial challenge in its history, there couldn't be a worst time for a huge reorganisation. The NHS is essentially drifting at the moment. This bill could prove catastrophic."

Top 5 Reasons to Drop the Bill

The Bill will break up the NHS and create an unfair postcode lottery. With no national standards, there will be widespread variation in the treatments available on the NHS. In some areas, people may have to go private to get services available for free elsewhere.

The Bill risks rises in waiting times and a two-tier NHS. It scraps the cap on hospitals treating private patients at the same time as watering down guarantees on NHS waiting times. This means local hospitals will be free to treat more private patients and make NHS patients wait longer.

The Bill turns the NHS into a full-blown commercial market, putting competition before patient care. It allows private companies to cherry-pick quick profits, potentially forcing local hospitals to go bust. Hospitals could even be fined for working together.

The Bill undermines the bond of trust between doctors and patients. It creates conflicts of interest where financial incentives could interfere with medical decisions. GPs could even get a bonus for rationing your care.

This Bill is wasting money and creating bureaucracy. It is unforgivable to spend £2 billion on a reckless re-organisation when the NHS needs every penny it can get for patient care. Nearly £1 billion is being wasted on pay-offs for managers, only for many of them to be re-employed as consultants.

Sign up to Labour’s online petition at DropTheBill.com

Pictured: Andrew Smith MP and Oxford Labour Councillors and activists.