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Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1126/32229
From The Socialist newspaper, 24 March 2021
Fighting NHS privatisation
Keep York urgent care public
NHS privatisation cartoon, photo Alan Hardman (Click to enlarge)
York NHS worker and Socialist Party member
York hospital is partially privatising it's emergency department to Vocare. Vocare already runs out-of-hours GP services in York.
Doctors and nurses working in the department want good mechanisms for patients requiring less input, while there must be oversight of every patient's full journey through A&E. This must not be done by third-party or private organisations.
Workers have formed Keep York Urgent Care Public. We say that the quality of care will be diminished by the involvement of Vocare, which made £3.8 million profit in 2020.
Already the minor illness department is managed by Vocare. Staff fear that they will end up on Vocare contracts, with all the consequences for pay, conditions and training.
A&E consultant Dr Stephen Crane recently addressed York City Council to oppose the trust's plans. A petition against the proposals has attracted over 13,000 signatures.
York Socialist Party members give our full support to NHS workers fighting these proposals. The contracting out of NHS services must end.
The existing Vocare workforce should be brought back into the NHS, alongside support staff in the trust who were transferred into a wholly owned subsidiary in 2019.
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
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In The Socialist 24 March 2021:
Protest
Defying the anti-protest restrictions
Police attempt to silence mothers
NHS
Haringey: Hands off our GP practices
Elections
Battle for a fighting, anti-austerity Liverpool mayor
Help fund the Socialist Party's stand as part of TUSC
Fighting Sexual Harassment
Fighting sexual harassment and gender violence on campus
Paris Commune 150 Years
150th anniversary of the Paris Commune
2011 Pensions Strike
Lessons of the 2011 pensions strike: when workers showed their power
Workplace News
PCS elections: increased support for Broad Left Network
Engineering workers strike against 'fire and rehire' in Leicester
'Sleep-ins' ruling must lead to a huge campaign for social care workers' rights
Shrewsbury Pickets win: Convictions overturned
Sparks continue protests against deskilling
Beal High school strike as management refuse to negotiate over fair sick pay scheme
Preparing to organise workers in Enfield
Support victimised bus driver reps and Socialist Party members Declan and Moe
Goodlord workers continue all-out strike
Campaigns
Save John Carroll - fight is far from over!
Stop evictions and drop the debts
Online meeting - Ending violence against women, the socialist approach
Socialist Party regional conferences meet online
Readers' Opinion
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