Keep Our NHS Public is an umbrella organisation of dozens of local campaign groups and smaller national NHS campaigns. It’s these locally-rooted campaigners who are the heart of what we do – their hard work on the ground is the first line of defence for NHS services against the government’s agenda of cuts, closures, fragmentation and privatisation. These groups and campaigns are our full affiliates – they vote in KONP elections, take part in our Steering Group, decide KONP’s campaigning priorities, and help run the organisation on a day-to-day basis.
There may already be an active KONP group in your area – click here to look for one. If you don’t have a local KONP group where you are, we’d love to help you start one up!
(If you are part of another political organisation that is not a health campaigning group, but which supports our aims, such as a trade union branch or a constituency political party, and you would like to affiliate that organisation to KONP, this falls under our “HCT Affiliate” category (previously “Supporting Affiliate”) – click here for more information.)
How to start a KONP group
Setting up a KONP group is not difficult or expensive – we’re committed to making it as easy as possible. All you need to do is:
- Get at least three people in the area (including yourself) to join KONP as individual members.
- Complete our online group registration form. This gives us information including who your point of contact could be with new members in the area, and who you would like to represent your local group on our national Steering Group.
- Pay KONP an annual affiliation fee for the group of £50.*
* If this is a financial barrier, contact us directly to discuss.
We are here to support you with the process of setting up a new group. We can put you in touch with established groups in the extended area, to hear directly from them about how they’ve put down roots in their communities. We can also provide you with free starter materials to reach out to people, like leaflets and sign-up sheets. You can also contact our national office for friendly and professional advice on how to go about setting up a group.
The only thing you really need to get started is a passion for defending the NHS – but staying well-informed about developments in healthcare can also make things easier. There are many great resources you can access to learn more about what’s going on with the NHS, such as the ourNHS section on the OpenDemocracy website, and the NHS For Sale website, which is maintained by the NHS Support Federation. You can also find information here on the Keep Our NHS Public site, in the News section and in our Resource Cabinet – and if you’ve not done so already, you should definitely sign up to receive our free newsletter!