HEALTH minister Andrew Lansley was greeted by jeers and chants on his visit to Kirklees.
The minister was met by protests from Unison members, health sector workers and families.
The minister’s unannounced visit to Eddercliffe Intermediate Care Centre in Liversedge comes days after a report showed the Coalition Government is shifting £5.4m of NHS funding to better-off areas in the south.
The document, produced by Public Health Manchester for the Health Select Committee, assesses the long-term impact of the Government’s decision to change the way in which money is allocated to primary care trusts so that it gives less weighting to health inequalities.
The Government has disputed the allegations and claimed Labour’s figures were misleading and that the health service would have suffered funding cuts under Labour.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary and Yorkshire MP John Healey said: “The Tory plans will hit services that help people stop smoking, promote healthy eating and exercise, and raise awareness about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases. They will make it harder to prevent the big killers like heart disease and cancer, and increase the costs of poor health for everyone in the long run.
“Once again we’re seeing David Cameron and his Government failing to give a fair deal to people in Yorkshire.”
Batley and Spen MP Mike Wood said: “We couldn’t let the minister’s visit pass without allowing him to know he is not welcome here.
“The real threat is within four years the NHS could be privatised.
“It will be fuelled by competition and the standard of care will be driven down as a result.
“The end of this recent allocation is that the north will be allocated less money than well-healed areas like Surrey and areas such as ours will suffer.”
Huddersfield University student Tom Chappelow, 24, who attended the protest, said: “The NHS is for everyone, and personally I have experienced really great service in the NHS in Dewsbury and Huddersfield and the move to privatise the NHS would have a massive effect on these services.”
Green Party spokesman Martin Hemingway added: “It’s obvious that the cuts the Tories are pushing through are going to affect those that can’t afford private health care.
“The minister’s visit is exactly what we expected. There is a lot of anger from people locally. What we need is for everyone who hasn’t heard to listen and get behind us.”
Mr Lansley declined to speak to protesters and attended the private meeting as planned.
A Conservative party spokesman said: “This Government is increasing spending on the NHS in real terms over this parliament, and every region of the country will receive more money as a result of this investment.”
