When we started our regular petitioning against NHS cuts outside entrance number one of Hope hospital in Salford last Sunday, little did we know that we would only last for two minutes.
Christian Bunke Manchester
We have been consistently campaigning against NHS cuts in Salford for the last few months. Hope hospital is one of those affected in the greater Manchester area, and the support for our call for a national demo from both staff and patients has been overwhelming.
It was very much the same last Sunday, a warm and sunny day with people queuing up to sign our petition. But we were soon interrupted by two private security men who declared that they had come to throw us off the premises.
When we politely explained that we had been there every Sunday for months, they snarled that “This was the first time they had seen us”. We tried to give them a leaflet to explain what we were all about, but they simply looked at it as if it was infected with MRSA! They then had all the CCTV cameras trained on us to ensure that we would really leave.
Could it be that someone somewhere is getting nervous about our campaigning? We certainly won’t give up or be intimidated! During April, Salford supporters of the Socialist Party will campaign for Lynn Worthington in the council elections in Wythenshawe.
As a Socialist Party member, Lynn has stubbornly and successfully fought against cuts to the neo-natal unit at Wythenshawe hospital. Once the elections are over, we will be back in force at Hope hospital in Salford. We shall not be moved until all NHS cuts and privatisation attempts are stopped!
