Save our NHS, photo by Mary Finch

Save our NHS, photo by Mary Finch   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Alistair Tice, Socialist Party Yorkshire

In the eight years of Tory-led governments, 95 NHS walk-in centres have been closed – 40% of the original number.

Walk-in centres were designed to ease pressure on accident and emergency departments and provide same day treatment for patients who couldn’t access GP services. Yet, as casualty and GP appointment waiting times have increased, more walk-in centres are being closed as part of the misnamed “efficiency” savings, ie cuts, to NHS budgets.

Here in Sheffield, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has proposed the closure of the city centre walk-in clinic and the minor injuries unit at the centrally located Hallamshire hospital.

These plans have met with massive opposition, with a near 15,000 signatures on the petition. Even the CCG’s rigged ‘consultation’ exercise resulted in a majority of respondents either not agreeing or opposing their closure proposals.

This has forced the CCG to review their urgent care review, which they had originally planned to force through this month, and delay any decision until September at the earliest.

In order to increase pressure on Sheffield health bosses to drop their closure plans altogether, Sheffield Save Our NHS (SSONHS) campaign, in which Socialist Party members are playing an active part, is holding a march and rally on Saturday 28 April.

As well as opposing these closures, SSONHS is campaigning against Tory plans for (un)Accountable Care Organisations – which will facilitate even more cuts and privatisation of NHS services – and demanding that Labour councils use their powers to stop these, which to date they have not done in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

That is why the Socialist Party is supporting Save Our NHS candidate Naveen Judah in the South Yorkshire mayoral election and standing TUSC candidates for Sheffield City Council.

  • Sheffield Save Our NHS march and rally Saturday 28 April. Assemble 1.30pm at City Hall. March to Hallamshire hospital
  • Sheffield Socialist Party May Day meeting Fighting NHS and Council cuts. Guest speaker: Hannah Sell (Socialist Party deputy general secretary). Tuesday 1 May, 7pm at Central United Reform Church, S1 2JB