HEALTH campaigners unfurled a giant banner outside Purfleet Care Centre to highlight how the government and private companies like Virgin Care are, they claim, misleading patients, by using the NHS logo.
The banner read "Do Virgin Care? No logo – Why the cover up? The NHS branded Purfleet Care Centre in Purfleet is in fact,they say, run by Virgin Care, yet there is no visible evidence that this is the case.
The People’s NHS believe that this is a serious affront to patients and local communities who have been "actively misled" into believing that they are being treated by the NHS, when in actual fact that is not the case.
In 2010 even the then Tory health minister Simon Burns said: “The NHS is protective of the logo. Whilst I am happy with competition with the independent sector we would not be happy for the use of the logo. This can be misleading and an endorsement of the very people that the NHS are supposed to be competing against.”
Ron Singer from the People’s NHS said: “Patients are being kept in the dark by their own government about who, precisely is treating them. Private Companies like Virgin are using the NHS logo even though they are not the NHS.
“The government is failing to take action to stop private companies from using the NHS – why?
“Virgin spends millions promoting their brand. Their logo appears on everything they run – on trains, planes, even wine bottles. But when it comes to its NHS business, they’ve suddenly become shy.”
“Department of Health nust to ensure patients are not misled. It is wrong to allow private companies to use the NHS brand to provide services for those who are ill and vulnerable and to portray themselves as doing so as part of the NHS.”
