Private treatment at NHS hospitals

That this House notes that the Health and Social Care Act 2012 in effect allows NHS Foundation Trusts to earn 49 per cent of their income from treating private patients; acknowledges that, before it was amended during its passage through Parliament, it set no limit on private income, demonstrating that the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition Government had initially planned to enable NHS Foundation Trusts to earn as much of their income as they wanted from treating private patients; further notes that in 2011 the majority of NHS Foundation Trusts had private income caps of between 0.1 per cent and 2 per cent; is concerned by recent reports that NHS Trusts are promoting expensive private healthcare at their hospitals, offering patients the chance to jump NHS waiting lists; is further concerned that this will increase waiting times for NHS patients; believes that this is leading to a two-tier health system where people who have the means to pay can get treated more quickly, while NHS patients face longer waits, often in pain and discomfort; notes that this is not in the spirit in which the NHS was created; further notes that with waiting lists of over 7 million, there is no excess capacity in the NHS; recognises that the NHS is publicly owned and publicly funded and should remain a comprehensive and universal service, free at the point of use; and calls on the Government to put an end to NHS facilities being used to provide services to private patients.