Officially ‘non-nationalist’ party demands a 32-county all-Ireland NHS

The campaign is being driven largely by People Before Profit – a socialist party which designates as neither nationalist or unionist in the Assembly.

The contact details given for the newly-formed Campaign for an All Ireland National Health Service (CAI-NHS) are for Londonderry People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin, and Dublin-based party activist Conor Reddy.

A statement released by the group said that today’s events come four months after the council passed a motion supporting the establishment of an all-Ireland NHS.

The statement said: “The experience of the Covid-19 pandemic so far has revealed deep, structural deficiencies in healthcare systems North and South.

“Years of underfunding, privatisation and operating according to a managerial model focused on efficiencies rather than meeting public health needs, led to a dangerous situation where healthcare systems were under threat of being overwhelmed by the pandemic.

“This danger forced unprecedented action and investment in healthcare.

“Budgets were dramatically expanded, recruitment embargoes lifted and private healthcare capacity was taken into public control.”

It added: “On a small island of six million inhabitants, the existence of two divergent public health strategies caused tension and endangered lives.

“At the most acute stage of the first wave, border counties had some of the highest infection rates.

“An all-Ireland approach to testing, tracing, public health guidelines and healthcare delivery would have been safer and may have saved lives.

“Moving on from the pandemic, this lesson will endure.

“A single system makes logical sense for those living in border counties, where the nearest hospital may lie in another jurisdiction.

“A single all-Ireland system makes economic sense too – a larger, single-tier system, operating on a 32 county basis would benefit from economies of scale, allowing for savings in the long term.”