People Before Profit Ballyarnett representative Damien Doherty
It follows confirmation by the Western Trust that it is taking over the running of the Racecourse Medical Centre in Shantallow.
Last week it was revealed that a GP lined up to take over the service has now pulled out.
Said Mr Doherty: “We fully agree with the Western Trust stepping in to make sure Racecourse Medical Centre GP services continue for the near 5,000 patients and staff following the abrupt withdrawal of the Department of Health appointed contractor.
“The Department of Health needs to provide certainty and confidence that GP services for the area will remain permanently in place.
“We back calls for the DUP to end its cynical block on a functioning Stormont Executive. However, we do not forget that consecutive Stormont Executive’s are responsible for the fragility and uncertainty facing GP services in Derry and across the North.
“Rhetoric aside, from the beginning of the Good Friday Agreement the main parties all agreed the public sector, including the health service, needed to be rundown to create space for the profit focused private sector.
“The private health sector is now booming with profits – sucked out of the health service.
“This didn’t happen accidentally – it happened because parties constituting the Executive made a priority of it.
“They put profit before people and the consequences are clear.
“Over and over we see manufactured health service crises exploited to reduce access and entrench health profiteering.
“People Before Profit’s priority is defending access to a quality health service that’s publicly funded and free at the point of use. This starts with local GP services.
“We will continue to back residents efforts utilising people power to demand the Department of Health make sure GP services in Shantallow and elsewhere remain locally accessible.”
