THE York health centre which suggested its patients should consider private treatment has been debated in Parliament.

Haxby and Wigginton Health Centre wrote to about 30 people earlier this month to advise them the NHS would no longer fund some procedures, and provided a price list for treatments under HBG Limited, in which it has a shareholding.

Helen Jones, Labour MP for Warrington North, yesterday told the House of Commons the centre’s actions were “simply a foretaste of what will happen”, under the proposed Health and Social Care Bill, which would create a “privatised, marketised NHS”.

Paul Burstow, Minister of State for Care Services, said an investigation was under way. He said: “There is a code of conduct for the promotion of NHS-funded services and that code does make it clear that primary medical services, through the contracts that we have, cannot directly or indirectly seek or accept from any of its patients payment or other remuneration for any treatment.”