INCREASED NHS funding during the last Labour government masks how privatisation reduced its efficiency, says a groundbreaking new expert report which was launched in Parliament this week.

The Rational Policy-maker’s Guide to Rebuilding the NHS was produced by academics and NHS professionals at the 99% Organisation and Keep Our NHS Public (KONP).

Cross-party MPs, policy-makers attended the event sponsored by Labour MP Richard Burgon.

Today he said: “This report lays bare the truth that underfunding and creeping privatisation have left our NHS in crisis. But there is a way forward.

“Proper public investment and a commitment to keeping the NHS free at the point of use can rebuild our health service and improve patient outcomes.

“The government must take note: this is not just about economics, it’s about saving lives.”

The report warned that ministers “must skilfully avoid the pitfalls of the past” Labour government, including failing to tackle social care.

It says there are “good reasons to suspect” that the private finance inititiative, target-setting and use of public funds to build private sector capacity were counter-productive, calling for ministers to “encourage rigorous investigation” by Britain’s leading universities of which reforms produced improvements.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence should be asked to assess new initiatives before launch and the National Audit Office made responsible for assessing which initiatives have lived up to their promises, it adds.

Highlighting the “remarkably successful” long-term planning in China and Singapore, it called for the creations of a department for national strategy that is not be part of the Treasury.

Founder of the 99% Organisation Mark E Thomas said: “There is no dispute that the NHS is struggling badly, but there is certainly dispute about how to fix it.

“This report demonstrates that calls for further privatisation or an insurance-based system would be catastrophic for both public health and the economy.

“The only viable solution is proper funding, preventive healthcare investment, and tackling the root causes of ill health, including poverty.”

KONP co-chair Dr John Puntis said: “Decades of market-driven policies have eroded our NHS.

“This report makes it clear that the way forward is not more outsourcing or corporate involvement, but a properly funded, publicly run health service that puts patients before profit.

“The evidence is here, and the government has no excuse not to act.”

The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.