TUSC NHS Credit card: The Health & Social Care Act Means: NHS Privatisation
National demo urgently needed
NHS hospitals have been told to make deeper cuts by the health regulator Monitor. They said last year that hospitals should make cuts of 4.6% from 2013. But in a letter to NHS hospitals Monitor now says that these cuts should increase to 7%.
This hike would mean that a typical hospital with a £300 million turnover will have to find savings of £21 million.
Such cuts will seriously impact the delivery of services to patients. NHS workers will be put under intolerable pressure. Their reward will be worsening terms and conditions, including wage cuts and redundancies.
It was recently revealed that the NHS has been targeted to make £50 billion (yes, billion!) in savings over the next decade. Such devastating cost cutting would make the NHS even more attractive to private operators, such as Virgin Care who recently took over care services in Surrey.
Rob Bishop, Gloucestershire Socialist Party & Keep Gloucestershire NHS Public
Activists and their supporters from Save Heatherwood Hospital are holding a range of activities during the week commencing 23 April. Highlights will be the public meeting on 27 April and the march and rally on 28 April.
Speakers at the public meeting will include Steve Bell from the Unison SGE (personal capacity), Terry Pearce representing Save Heatherwood Hospital and Labour MP Fiona McTaggert.
We are channelling local public anger at the hospital closure through meetings, petitions and lobbies. But our campaign is not limited to saving the local hospital – we are also fighting to save the NHS from privatisation.
Terry Pearce, Defend Our Community Services, personal capacity
Two decades ago, the poll tax was made law and implemented, meaning every adult had to pay the same rate whether they lived in a mansion or a one-bedroom flat. It was defeated by a mass campaign organising 18 million people who refused to pay.
We need a similar fight to save the NHS – we can win. The Socialist Party demands:
- Axe the Health and Social Care Act. For a publicly funded service, free at the point of use, to provide for everyone’s health needs
- End big business profiteering from the NHS! Scrap the costly Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes.
- Take all health services and buildings back from big business and place them under public ownership. Publicly fund and integrate them with the rest of the NHS
- Nationalise the pharmaceutical and medical supply industries and private health providers, with compensation only on the basis of proven need. Bring them under working class control and management
- Abolish Foundation Trusts. For democratic control of local health services including by elected health workers and community representatives
- End NHS job losses and low pay
- For a massive trade union-led struggle to defend the NHS, including a national Saturday demonstration as soon as possible and strike action
- For a new mass workers’ party to fight for the NHS and against cuts and privatisation.
- For socialist policies and a democratic planned economy to end poverty, bad housing, unemployment, pollution and inequality – the biggest killers and causes of ill-health
