Campaign defeats GP services sell-off

Socialist Party NHS campaign

Derbyshire

Campaign defeats GP services sell-off

A LOCAL pensioner in Derbyshire, Pam Smith, has won her appeal to
stop the US’s biggest healthcare corporation from running her local GP
surgery in the village of Langwith (for more details see the socialist
18-24 May 2006).

Jon Dale, Bolsover Socialist Party

Patients had not been properly consulted, said the appeal court
judge, before North East Derbyshire primary care trust (PCT) gave the
contract to provide Langwith’s GP services to United Health Europe, the
British division of the US multinational. The court ordered the PCT to
start the tendering process from scratch, with full patient
consultation.

This is a great victory for the people of Langwith. Everyone fighting
NHS privatisation will share their joy.

It would not have happened without strong local displays of anger at
the way the Primary Care Trust was trying to steamroller the community
into accepting this giant American multinational as their provider of GP
services.

Two public meetings were held at which hardly one person spoke in
favour of the deal. The original Judicial Review decision – that the PCT
had failed in its duty to consult local people, but that it would have
made no difference if they had – was laughable.

But although the courts have backed local protesters this time, it
would be a mistake for NHS campaigners to rely on them. More often than
not, the judges will back business interests.

It’s the strength of campaigns that counts – and they need to be
linked up at national level to make them strong enough to defeat
Labour’s continuing onslaught.


Come to the Sheffield rally

FOUR THOUSAND in two days! That’s the number of signatures staff from
S2 ward have received whilst petitioning against the proposed ward
closure at the Sheffield Childrens Hospital.

Jon Smith, GMB branch secretary, Sheffield Children’s Hospital

I have had nothing but support from people regarding our rally and
march on 9 September but we need more. The joint unions are calling on
everyone opposed to NHS cuts to attend this march and rally.

Our battle at the Children’s Trust (where management are cutting £9
million over three years) is the battle of all NHS trusts. £90 million
cuts are proposed at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust! Today we
must win back our NHS.


Demonstrate Saturday 9 September.

Assemble 10am Weston Park for march and rally at City Hall.


Leeds hospitals protest

TEN MEMBERS of Leeds Socialist Party staged a protest lobby of Leeds
Teaching Hospitals NHS trust chief, Neil McKay, outside St James’s
hospital on 31 August.

Nigel Poustie

Over the past three years, this Trust – which runs St James’s and
Leeds General Infirmary – has cut hundreds of posts, closed nine wards
and axed many beds.

A regular flow of people coming off the buses came straight to our
stall to sign the petition.

One nurse took our paper to show to her colleagues.

We were told we weren’t allowed on the premises – of a public
hospital!

We were then told we couldn’t see Neil McKay as he wasn’t there. So
instead chief nurse Maureen Noughton was sent to receive the 3,000
signatures we’d collected on our petition, attacking their policy of
privatisation and cuts.

We later found out from student nurses that Neil McKay was on their
ward with a clip board.

This reinforces the common opinion that, while patients and staff are
suffering, there are: "too many managers, too many management
consultants and too many private companies bleeding the NHS dry."


Fighting NHSL sell-off

THE STORES and supplies service of the NHS has now been signed off to
DHL/Novation. NHS Logistics is supposed to be run by these private
companies from 1 October.

DHL claim of course that they will save the NHS £1 billion over the
next ten years, without affecting the quality of the service.

The workforce is more sceptical and are balloting for strike action,
the result of the ballot of UNISON’s 750-plus members will be known
after 11 September.

And UNISON has produced leaflets and posters in Polish to ensure
every union member is encouraged to vote for action.

This is another chapter in New Labour’s drive for privatisation at
any cost.

They want to hive off an award-winning public service to a company
like Novation who are already being investigated in the USA because of
their procurement activities.


The Socialist Party says

  • No to NHS job losses, cuts and closures.
  • No to NHS privatisation and ‘the market’. Rebuild the NHS as a
    publicly funded service free at the point of use, and with immediate
    cash to end the crisis of under-funding.
  • Unite the many campaigns already existing to defend the NHS.
  • The unions should name the day for a national weekday demonstration
    and industrial action against the attacks on the NHS jobs and services.
  • Prepare for a one-day strike of NHS workers, with NHS staff deciding
    levels of emergency cover
  • The health unions should stop giving money to New Labour, whose
    pro-market policies are destroying the NHS. Build the Campaign for a New
    Workers’ Party.