Under the Knife (film)

Under the Knife
Film poster
Directed by	Susan Steinberg
Produced by	Pamela Kleinot
Narrated by	Alison Steadman
Release date	October 2019 (2019-10)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Under the Knife is a 2019 feature-length documentary film directed by Susan Steinberg, produced by Pamela Kleinot and narrated by actor Alison Steadman. Supported by Britain's Labour Party, health trade unions, and the campaign group Keep Our NHS Public, it argues that England's state-run National Health Service (NHS) is being intentionally privatised and underfunded. Though its premise and conclusions have been disputed, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock has stated in Parliament that he considers to be outdated arguments about a split between public and private in healthcare.^[1] NHS funding going to private firms escalated during the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic.^[1]

The film looks at healthcare before the NHS and how this service came to be, followed by what happened over the subsequent seven decades, before presenting its arguments on privatisation, underfunding, the private finance initiative and the impact of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act. More than 60 people are interviewed in the film.