The Government’s NHS ‘reforms’ are said to be the biggest assaults on our health service in its history. Services are being sold off to profit‐making companies. Entire hospitals face closure as demonstrated by the recent campaign to save Lewisham Hospital. Massive cuts have been wielded in order to pay the interest on disastrous PFI deals. Hospital Trusts have formed cartels and are trying to break national pay scales; staffing levels have been cut to dangerous levels; nurses have been scapegoated for problems directly caused by years of managerialism and unrealistic financial targets. Huge chunks of the NHS are disappearing now, all around us.
Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act (2012) is due to be implemented imminently. This forces virtually all commissioning of health services by the National Commissioning Board (NCB) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to be carried out through competitive markets, whether or not the NHS is the preferred choice. Despite promising the NHS is safe in their hands, the Government is forcing through privatisation regardless of the will of local people.
What can be done?
The purpose of the meeting is for local people to understand the privatisation plans and what this means for their health services, to hear about recent action against cuts, closures and privatisation in the NHS and to plan strategies for local resistance.
Speakers include MP Caroline Lucas, Marie Anne Waters (Keep Our NHS Public) and a spokesperson from Defend Lewisham Hospital.