THE future of the National Health Service will be on the agenda at a public meeting organised by the Malvern Hills Green Party.

The event is open to all those concerned about the NHS whatever their politics, says Dr John Blewitt, chairman of the Malvern party.

He said: "Free and open discussion about this and other issues is at the heart of our democracy. The meeting is open to everyone concerned about the future of health and social care irrespective of their political point of view. So far health privatisation has driven up costs and produced worse results for patients."

The panel of speakers includes Dr Jonathan Leach from the Royal College of General Practitioners, Glyn Coventry from the mental health support group Positive Thoughts, Professor Joel Talcott from the School of Life and Health Sciences at Aston University and Green Party parliamentary candidate Julian Roskams.

Mr Roskams said: "The Green Party believes in putting the public at the heart of the NHS by bringing an end to the £20bn programme of funding cuts introduced by Labour and carried forward by the Coalition; repealing the Health and Social Care Act; and supporting a new NHS Bill that would rebuild and reinvest in the NHS.

The debate will be at the Guesten Rooms, Lyttelton Well, Church Street, on Thursday, February 26, February from 7pm to 8.30pm. Organisers say the evening will include plenty of time for questions and answers from the audience.