NHS Emergency - Fight for a fully funded, publicly owned, socialist NHS

NHS workers protest outside Aintree hospital for a pay rise on 26 August, photo Liverpool SP (Click to enlarge)

The NHS is under more pressure than ever. Ambulances are queueing outside A&E and hospital resources running low. Millions of people are living in mortal fear of falling ill.

Everything has been made worse by successive governments, Tories and Labour, underfunding and selling-off our NHS.

The endless squeezing of NHS staff pay and conditions has led to enormous staff shortages and now, as the pandemic reaches new heights, 46,000 hospital staff are off sick with Covid-19.

The criminal under resourcing of the health service is leading to reduction in the quality of care. With a critical lack of oxygen supply at Southend Hospital, the target blood oxygen level for patients has been reduced from 92% to as low as 88%.

At least two London hospitals have cancelled urgent operations, including cancer surgery. Meanwhile, private hospitals have continued to carry out non-urgent operations for those able to pay.

The NHS bosses are reportedly attempting to 'negotiate' with the private hospitals for use of their facilities.

The Socialist Party demands that all private health and social care facilities, including hospitals, care homes and the pharmaceutical industry, be requisitioned to respond to the pandemic.

This would lay the basis for a publicly owned NHS, care sector and big pharma under democratic workers' control and management.

For those working in the NHS we demand a 15% pay rise and a scrapping of training fees for health workers, including a wiping of existing tuition fee debts. To harness the knowledge and experience of health workers we demand workers' and trade union oversight of the pandemic response. We fight for a fully funded, publicly owned, socialist NHS.

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Finance appeal

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.

Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.

We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to click here to donate to our Fighting Fund.