A TRANSATLANTIC trade deal that might force the NHS to contract out of some services to private firms could could become an issue in June’s EU referendum.

South West Surrey constituents have been urged to lobby MP Jeremy Hunt, who is the Tory Health Secretary, to ensure the NHS is excluded from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Concerns about the possible knock-on effect on the NHS were re-ignited following legal advice from Michael Bowsher, chairman of the EU law committee of the general council of the Bar of England, who confirmed the need for the NHS to be placed outside of the TTIP trade deal.

Mr Bowsher said the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which is expected to be finalised this year, might force the NHS to contract out some services to private firms. It would also make it difficult to hand back contracts to the NHS.

He concluded there was “a real and serious risk” the Government would not be able to make key decisions about the NHS because ministers would be constrained by the trade deal and recommended the NHS “be excluded” from the agreement, by way of a blanket exception contained within the TTIP’s main text.

Mr Hunt has already come under fire from campaigners, including the People’s NHS, for failing to act.

Responding to a nationwide protest mounted last year by independent campaign group 38 Degrees, he reiterated his support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and denied it would undermine the powers of the NHS at a local level.

“GPs who this Government put in charge of designing decisions will continue to decide who should best provide services for their patients,” he said.

“The accusation that the trade deal could force the privatisation of the NHS is a complete red herring, and this has been confirmed by the European Commission itself. A new US/EU trade deal would not result in any changes being made to existing practices or indeed force the privatisation of the NHS.

“What a trade deal could do though, which would be of huge benefit to the country, is create thousands of new jobs in the UK, offer improved access to the US market for our world-class pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors, boost the economy and create more taxes to fund the NHS.”

This week, South West Surrey People’s NHS spokesman Simon Pullen said: “Alarming legal advice shows Britain’s sovereignty over the NHS is being sold down the river by faceless EU bureaucrats to Wall Street.

“Our MP, the Health secretary, is doing nothing to defend our local health services from this attack.

“It is especially concerning, given his position as Health Secretary, that these failures to act actually make it looks as if he wants the NHS to be irreversibly sold-off."