Campaign group Fair Deal for the NHS has clashed with MP Charlie Elphicke over the junior doctors’ dispute.

After a meeting with him on Friday, he has been accused of “not being willing to discuss whether a seven-day service is needed or desirable” and of evading questions of whether the NHS is being privatised.

Rosie Rechter, chairman of Fair Deal, said she believes Deal MP Mr Elphicke was implying the government’s pledge to provide an extra £8 billion for the NHS would solve all the problems of understaffing and running a seven-day service.

She said: “Our first request was that he should attend an all-party meeting in the House of Commons on Tuesday, June 28, to discuss the NHS re-instatement bill. I am sorry to say that he refused to do this.

“Our second request was that he write a letter on our behalf to Jeremy Hunt; initially he refused to do this too, but then agreed providing we removed the paragraph on Jeremy Hunt’s co-authorship of a pamphlet proposing a health service funded by private insurance supplemented by the state.”

The group also left a list of questions which require a written response and a 650-signature petition which was collected at two stalls in Deal High Street over the past six weeks.

Mr Elphicke told the Mercury he reported to the group that a resolution to the dispute had been struck between the junior doctors and ministers.

But he claims Fair Deal wanted the junior doctors’ ballot to be rejected.

He said: “Clearly I could not agree with that. Next the group told me they do not agree with a seven-day NHS. I was shocked by this and told them I could not agree with them on that either.

“Next the group asked me to back a bill to take away powers from GPs and turn things back to the way they used to be. Yet as we know, that would have resulted in the end of Deal Hospital, which had been left teetering on the edge.

“Finally the group said more money was needed for the NHS. I pointed out that the Labour and Green parties had not matched our commitment to spend the £8 billion we have committed to the NHS.

“My conclusion was that the Green and Labour Parties spend too much time politicking and hoping things will go wrong.

“They seem against what we have been doing to invest and improve the NHS.”

Fair Deal for the NHS, as a group, is not affiliated to any political party.

To support Fair Deal for the NHS, or for more information email dealfordoctors@gmail.com