Thousands to join NHS cuts rally at Westminster today
Thousands of NHS staff are expected to descend on Parliament for a rally against the state of the NHS. NHS Together, an alliance of 16 health unions, has arranged the demonstration against job losses in the NHS and the pace of government reforms. The health service is facing unprecedented upheaval with increasing private sector involvement and major hospitals under threat of cuts. Officials from the alliance will also be lobbying MPs.
A series of speakers, including Unison general secretary Dave Prentis, have been lined up to address the rally.
They agree with Health Direct that 20,000 posts are being cut - although the government says only 900 staff will actually be made redundant with the other cuts being made through natural wastage and voluntary redundancy.
Campaigners will also criticise the government's reform programme which they say risks "fragmenting" the health service.
Over recent years, the government has increasingly relied on private involvement through independent sector treatment centres, which carry out minor surgery, and PFI schemes, which use private money to build new hospitals.
Some of the NHS's major acute hospitals are also coming under threat as local health bosses carry out reviews of services to make the health service more efficient.
A spokeswoman for NHS Together, which includes the British Medical Association, Royal College of Nursing and Unison, said: "NHS staff are proud of the real improvements in the health service in recent years but we are increasingly worried that progress is now under threat.
"Staff morale is at an all time low. We support changes that improve patient care but there is too much top down change that has not won the support or involvement of the staff who have to implement it."
Steve Sweeney, a psychiatric nurse from Cambridge, who will be joining the protest, said his area was facing cuts to mental health, inpatient care and rehabilitation wards.
"I'm going to London because what's happening here is happening throughout the country. The government is diverting money to private companies, who are leeching off the NHS. It's important for people to stand up and show the government that they can't do this without a fight."
The protest comes as a YouGov poll of 2,000 people showed more than half believed the NHS had got worse in the last decade.
Details of the NHS protest is being carried by the BBC and Sky News at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6103290.stm
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13549925,00.html
Labour politicians can't run away from the consequencies of their actions. The public can see with thier own eyes the empty wards and hosiptals that have closed due to Labour's underfunding.
Only last week (Wed 25 Oct 06) Health Direct reported that Support for the Labour party is at lowest level since Thatcher's last election victory when support for Labour has dropped to its lowest level in almost 20 years with the Conservatives opening up a potentially election-winning 10-point lead, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. Labour has the backing of only 29% of voters, equal to its lowest-ever level of support in a Guardian/ICM poll - recorded in May 1987, a month before Margaret Thatcher won a third term.
Only 14% of voters think the money invested in the NHS since 1997 has been well spent, against 72% who agree that "a lot" has been used badly. Even 58% of Labour voters think the extra money has been misspent. As a result only 25% of voters think that the NHS has improved since Labour came to power in 1997, against 30% who think it has got worse and 39% who think Labour has made little difference. When one reads yesterday's blog is it any surprise that Labour gets the bird?
A series of speakers, including Unison general secretary Dave Prentis, have been lined up to address the rally.
They agree with Health Direct that 20,000 posts are being cut - although the government says only 900 staff will actually be made redundant with the other cuts being made through natural wastage and voluntary redundancy.
Campaigners will also criticise the government's reform programme which they say risks "fragmenting" the health service.
Over recent years, the government has increasingly relied on private involvement through independent sector treatment centres, which carry out minor surgery, and PFI schemes, which use private money to build new hospitals.
Some of the NHS's major acute hospitals are also coming under threat as local health bosses carry out reviews of services to make the health service more efficient.
A spokeswoman for NHS Together, which includes the British Medical Association, Royal College of Nursing and Unison, said: "NHS staff are proud of the real improvements in the health service in recent years but we are increasingly worried that progress is now under threat.
"Staff morale is at an all time low. We support changes that improve patient care but there is too much top down change that has not won the support or involvement of the staff who have to implement it."
Steve Sweeney, a psychiatric nurse from Cambridge, who will be joining the protest, said his area was facing cuts to mental health, inpatient care and rehabilitation wards.
"I'm going to London because what's happening here is happening throughout the country. The government is diverting money to private companies, who are leeching off the NHS. It's important for people to stand up and show the government that they can't do this without a fight."
The protest comes as a YouGov poll of 2,000 people showed more than half believed the NHS had got worse in the last decade.
Details of the NHS protest is being carried by the BBC and Sky News at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6103290.stm
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13549925,00.html
Labour politicians can't run away from the consequencies of their actions. The public can see with thier own eyes the empty wards and hosiptals that have closed due to Labour's underfunding.
Only last week (Wed 25 Oct 06) Health Direct reported that Support for the Labour party is at lowest level since Thatcher's last election victory when support for Labour has dropped to its lowest level in almost 20 years with the Conservatives opening up a potentially election-winning 10-point lead, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. Labour has the backing of only 29% of voters, equal to its lowest-ever level of support in a Guardian/ICM poll - recorded in May 1987, a month before Margaret Thatcher won a third term.
Only 14% of voters think the money invested in the NHS since 1997 has been well spent, against 72% who agree that "a lot" has been used badly. Even 58% of Labour voters think the extra money has been misspent. As a result only 25% of voters think that the NHS has improved since Labour came to power in 1997, against 30% who think it has got worse and 39% who think Labour has made little difference. When one reads yesterday's blog is it any surprise that Labour gets the bird?
posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic at
10:05 AM
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