Wednesday 12 September 2012

Che Guevara's daughter tells of her anxiety for the future of Britain's health service

The following article appeared in the Derby Telegraph following Aleida Guevara’s visit to Derby as part of her ‘Remembering Che’ tour.

THE daughter of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara says any changes made to the NHS must be "for the better" – as it would be "very sad" if the system was lost.

Dr Aleida Guevara made the comments yesterday ahead of a workshop for health professionals at Royal Derby Hospital. She was invited to speak about the role Cuban doctors perform working overseas. There are 20,000 in more than 70 different countries worldwide.

But Dr Guevara – who also visited Derby in 2009, when she described the NHS as "one of the best healthcare systems in the world" – said: "I have been reading about the NHS being in danger or in a dodgy situation because of a tendency to privatise things.

"But it is a system which has been achieved and gained by this country and changes to it have to be for the best, otherwise they make no sense at all. It is one of the best systems in the world and it would be very sad to lose it."

Dr Guevara, who has previously stated that her father influenced her to train as a doctor, also said coming to talk about the work of her country was important.

The 51-year-old said: "I'm getting older now but I still find it is always beautiful to come and speak about the reality of Cuba, which is often silenced by mainstream media.

"It's crucial that people know what we do. The sharing of information is also very important."

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