This has been included as part of Cheshire and Merseyside's share of a national contract with the independent sector. He said: "The additional satellite stations will significantly improve access and availability for patients. "Provision by the independent sector will not affect how patients access the services - like all NHS services they are free at the point of use. "All independent sector providers are required to adopt the same high standards of care set down for the NHS." The spokesman said he was unable to name any of the companies who have tendered for the contract. Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle is one of 19 politicians, university professors and senior figures in the British Medical Association (BMA), who oppose privatisation of NHS services to launch the "Keep Our NHS Public" campaign on Saturday. In a letter to a national newspaper, the group, which includes ex-secretary of state for health Frank Dobson, said: "The NHS stands at a crossroads. "For nearly 60 years, Britain has enjoyed a National Health Service that strives to be comprehensive, accessible and high value for money. "Now Government reforms threaten both the ethos of the NHS and the planned and equitable way in which it delivers care to patients. "The NHS must be kept in public hands, serving the interests of all patients and the broader public." The group is concerned that privatisation will turn health care into a competitive money making market in which income and profit will come before clinical considerations. It fears the shared network or resources and information currently operating within the NHS will be broken up while healthcare money will be diverted to shareholders and wasted on massive administrative costs. Mr Kilfoyle was last night travelling to the Labour Conference in Brighton where the issue was expected to be debated. jessicashaughnessy@dailypost.co.uk Companies 'will take over staff' >>> | 
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