The NHS is facing its worst crisis ever. This is a national emergency.
July 5th was the 75th birthday of our NHS, sadly it was not a time to celebrate. Now, more than ever, it is vital that we stand together to defend our NHS from those who seek to undermine its core values. We need a fully public NHS – because this is how we protect the pay, conditions and it’s also how we protect it for patients too. It’s the only way the NHS will survive. Our healthcare service was once ranked the best in the world, but since 2015 it has fallen to 10th place globally and is falling fast. We are now faced with hundreds of preventable and avoidable deaths happening every week. A majorstaffing crisis with over 132,000 staffing vacancies, and over 7 million on waiting lists
This isn’t time to ‘reform or retreat’, it’s time to return to founding principles. On 5 July 2023 KONP groups all over the country held events to recognise the successes of the NHS in the recent past – and to ask people to join the fight for an NHS fit to work in and fit for purpose for another 75 years and more.
NHS75 – HOW WE MARKED THE NHS BIRTHDAY NATIONWIDE
KONP NHS 75 RALLY | WEDNESDAY 1 JULY
Speakers:
Tony O’Sullivan, Co-chair – Keep Our NHS Public | Lester Holloway, The Voice | Ellen Clifford – DPAC activist and author | Pallavi Devulapalli, GP & Green Party Health Spokesperson | Holly Turner, Nurse, NHS Workers Say No | Chantelle Lunt, Merseyside BLM Alliance | Richard Burgon MP, Labour Party | Harry Eccles, Nurse, NHS Workers Say No | Margaret Greenwood MP, Labour Party |
Dr David Wrigley, NHS GP and BMA Council
NORTHERN MARCH FOR THE NHS | SATURDAY 1 JULY. LEEDS
Organised by Health Campaigns Together and Keep Our NHS Public regional campaigners and other the Northern March for the NHS is a vital moment to demand:
▪︎An end to chronic underfunding of the NHS ▪︎Safe staffing and pay justice for health and care workers ▪︎More beds▪︎Investment in the NHS not private health▪︎An end to social care disgrace
Contact info: [email protected]
SOCIALIST HEALTH ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE | SATURDAY 1 JULY 2023, LONDON
SHA NHS 75 Conference, featuring campaigning NHS workers, union leaders, overseas workers, MPs, and we all who use the service. The event is backed by: Doctors in Unite, Keep Our NHS Public, War on Want, SOS NHS and new endorsements are arriving daily.
BRIGHTON | THREADS OF SURVIVAL QUILT TALK, EXHIBITION AND BRIGHTON NHS SCROLL SATURDAY 1 JULY AND MONDAY 3 JULY
Brighton Threads of Survival Quilt Exhibition and introductory talk. Your first chance to see the Brighton Threads of Survival NHS banner.
Brighton Threads of Survival Quilt Exhibition and display of Brighton NHS scroll for NHS 75th Birthday.
The Quilt banner had pride of place in the window of ONCA Gallery. Brighton. (14 St Georges Place, opposite St Peters Church)
EALING SAVE OUR NHS | CELEBRATION AND PROTEST SATURDAY 1 JULY
Celebration and protest outside Ealing Hospital on Uxbridge Road, Southall. There were speakers, music, cake and plenty of chanting.
We had a very successful NHS 75th birthday celebration and protest on 1st July – a big thanks to every one who supported it. On 5th July we also took our giant birthday card packed out with messages of public support for NHS staff to Ealing Hospital, to share with them and patients too.
Contact: Eve Turner [email protected]
HACKNEY KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC AND PATIENTS NOT PASSPORTS | STALL AND LEAFLETING SATURDAY 1 JULY, HACKNEY LONDON
Joint stall (organised by Hackney KONP and Hackney Patients not Passports) giving out leaflets:
- To support health staff.
- To publicise the shocking NHS charges especially the charge of £76,000 demanded from the family of Omisha, then aged 2.
- To campaign to keep all of St Leonards Hospital from being sold off.
Contact: Marion Macalpine: [email protected]+ GOOGLE CALENDAR+ ADD TO ICALENDAR
ISLINGTON KONP | THREE STREET STALLS, SATURDAY 1 JULY, ISLINGTON, LONDON
Islington KONP held three street stalls at the Angel outside Sainsbury’s, outside Highbury and Islington tube, at the Nags Head, near Morrison’s
We asked members of the public to write a message to Rishi Sunak about the NHS on its 75th birthday, photographing the messages and putting them on Twitter on 5 July. We have summarised the messages for the local paper.
Contact: Sue Richards, [email protected]
SUNDERLAND AND DISTRICT KONP: GIANT BIRTHDAY CARD SATURDAY 1 JULY
SUNDERLAND CITY CENTRE
For several years now we have been creating a giant birthday card and collecting signatures/ messages from the public with a view to presenting the card to the staff at Sunderland Royal Hospital on the actual day of the birthday. We will, therefore, put up our stall in Sunderland City Centre on Saturday 1st July 2023 to collect signatures for this year’s card and at the same time leaflet/ engage with the public re the strikes/ current NHS issues.
Contact [email protected]
BEVAN FESTIVAL 2023 SUNDAY 2 JULY 2023 TREDEGAR, WALES
The annual Bevan Festival is a key event for those in Wales to celebrate the founder of the NHS. It started on July 2nd with a banner parade from Charles Street to Bedwellty Park for Speeches and family fun
Ymunwch â ni ar Orffennaf 2il ar ein gorymdaith faner flynyddol o Charles Street i Barc Bedwellte ar gyfer Areithiau a hwyl i’r teulu
ARBEDWCH Y DYDDIAD #NHS75#GIG75
SAVE THE DATE #NHS75#GIG75
SAVE OUR NHS PLAY, BEXLEY SAVE OUR NHS AND BROCKLEY POP UP PLAYERS
SUNDAY 2 JULY 3PM | LADYWELL FIELDS LEWISHAM
This play marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. It lasted 20 minutes and was read script-in-hand . There was music at the beginning. The play was performed by the Brockley Rise Pop Up Players in honour of the NHS, and supported by NHS campaigners.
Ann Garrett – [email protected]
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH SHOW | BANNER THEATRE COMPANY ORGANISED GREATER MANCHESTER KONP | TUESDAY 4 JULY BOLTON | 5 JULY STOCKPORT
75th Anniversary of the NHS celebrated with a show by Banner Theatre company. An evening of songs, stories, satire and video interviews with frontline workers and activists.
PROTEST THE PARTY | SAVE OUR NHS WEDNESDAY 5 JULY, CARLTON CLUB, CENTRAL LONDON
To celebrate the NHS 75th anniversary the Tories had a £130 a head dinner at a members only club. We stood outside to make our voices heard!
See here The Mirror and Morning Star
WE OWN IT – #NHS75: YOUR BIRTHDAY WISH FOR OUR NHS at 75, WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2023
NATIONWIDE
We Own It called on their supporters to organise or attend a local action in their local high street. Their plan was to provide NHS birthday cards, getting people on their local high street to sign and write messages – to be delivered to their your MP’s office. Contact [email protected] if you or a campaign group you are part of can organise an action on your local high street on the 5th of July.
FIND OUT MORE HERE
HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM SAVE OUR NHS | STALL AND LEAFLETING
WEDNESDAY 5 JULY, CHARING CROSS HOSPITAL, LONDON
Stall – with leaflets and petitions – particularly about the withdrawal of immediate funding from ‘new’ hospitals funding from Imperial Trust’s hospitals.
Contact: Merril Hammer [email protected]
SHEFFIELD SAVE OUR NHS | LOBBY, WEDNESDAY 5 JULY SHEFFIELD 9AM
Lobby with Sheffield Save Our NHS campaigners plus a lot of balloons, (blue and white), KONP leaflets etc.
Contact: Mick Suter, Chair, Sheffield Save Our NHS Phone: 07380139142
SOUTHAMPTON | STREET STALL AND LEAFLETING, WEDNESDAY 5 JULY
Southampton Keep Our NHS Public held a street stall, giving out leaflets and talking to shoppers and passers by. Contact: Helen Field [email protected]
SUNDERLAND AND DISTRICT KONP | SAND SCULPTURE, WEDNESDAY 5 JULY
SALTBURN BEACH
Contact [email protected]
TEA PARTY | SUNDERLAND MINSTER 3-4pm
Later that day, they held to hold a party at the Minster and invited as many 75-year-olds to it as possible as well as having student nurses and medical staff from the university there. We hoped to invite the CEO of South Tyneside and Sunderland Foundation Trust to receive the birthday card at the tea party.
SUSSEX DEFEND THE NHS | CELEBRATION AND CAMPAIGNING, BRIGHTON
WEDNESDAY 5 JULY
- 10.30 am: Outside ONCA. To hear from Professor Rob Galloway, A&E Consultant and others. There were NHS Birthday cards to sign and cake!
- 10 am – 3 pm: Threads of Survival Quilt and NHS scroll outside ONCA Gallery. 14 St Georges Place – opposite St Peters Church.
BARNSLEY SAVE OUR NHS | PUBLIC MEETING: CAN OUR NHS BE SAVED? BARNSLEY CIVIC, SATURDAY 8 JULY 2.45 PM
Barnsley Save Our NHS, supported by Barnsley Trades Council, is holding a public meeting on Saturday 8th July at 1pm in Barnsley Civic.
To share your experiences of the problems facing the NHS and ideas for how we can fight back.
All were welcome, including doctors, nurses and other frontline workers who have been on strike recently. Please share this post.
BRIXTON RALLY | WINDRUSH GENERATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF NHS IN LONDON, LAMBETH KONP
A rally in Windrush Square with speakers from Lambeth Council and the local Community, with an emphasis on the contribution of the Windrush Generation to the establishment of the NHS
Organiser: Lambeth KONP
Contact: Wendy Horler [email protected]
SAVE LEWISHAM HOSPITAL CAMPAIGN | 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAVING LEWISHAM HOSPITAL AND NHS 75 BIRTHDAY COMMEMORATION, SATURDAY 8 JULY, LEWISHAM, LONDON
Speeches and unveiling commemorative community bench followed by NHS75 cakes and music.
It’s 10 years since the Government was defeated in the High Court by the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, Lewisham Council and the community of Lewisham. Demonstrations of 15,000 and 25,000 through the streets of Lewisham, ‘buggy army’ pickets of the Department of Health, petitions, a People’s Commission, a march in Jeremy Hunt’s own constituency ‘The Hunt for Hunt’, a Born in Lewisham Hospital event, weekly stalls, leafleting, weekly meetings, placard making.
See here for Campaign 10 years on and Campaign timeline 2012-13`
Contact [email protected]
www.savelewishamhospital.com
PROTECT OUR NHS BRISTOL | NHS SINGALONG SUNDAY 9 JULY, BRISTOL
KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC MERSEYSIDE WEDNESDAY 12 JULY, LIVERPOOL
PUBLIC MEETING | NHS CRISIS, WHO PROFITS?
SPEAKERS
Dr John Puntis, co-chair Keep Our NHS Public (KONP): current state of the NHS, what we want and need
Dr Martin Blanchard, Doctors in Unite: What’s happening to our NHS data?
Aliya Yule, Migrants Organise: charging migrants undermines universal health care
Felicity Dowling, Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital: crisis in maternity care
Greg Dropkin, KONP: Integrated Care Boards and NHS privatisation
Dr Alex Scott-Samuel, KONP and Socialist Health Association: Labour policy – what it is, and what it should be
Organised by: Keep Our NHS Public (Merseyside)
All of us support NHS workers fighting to restore their wages and conditions, originally cut in 2009 to pay for the banking crisis and then held down for over a decade of austerity, and now rampant inflation. Fair pay is essential to rebuild morale, recruit and retain staff. But there is much more at stake, nationally and locally, with the NHS fragmented into 42 systems.
This year, NHS budgets in England were cut by over 4%, while 7.42 million patients wait for elective treatment, 371,111 wait more than 52 weeks, and 11,477 wait more than 78 weeks.
Each of the founding principles of the NHS is under attack: a universal, comprehensive service, publicly owned and accountable, funded through taxation and free at the point of use, with decisions on treatment taken on clinical grounds regardless of ability to pay.
All these principles are still essential. Who will fight for them now?