29 March
NHS terminally ill, stopping some prescriptions not the cure
Predictable call from the Telegraph for an ‘honest debate’ about NHS funding while pointing out no other country has adopted the NHS model. Attack on NHS principles.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/28/nhs-terminally-cracking-sunscreen-cough-syrup-wont-cure/
[15 more stories]
Fairer call from the Independent to stop giving private sector billions
Call for NHS to stop using ’gobbledygook’
From the Plain English Campaign. Long since a complaint about NHS management. Has a sinister edge when used for STPs, where obfuscation could be the intent. BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39341411
31 March
Future of NHS debated at Evesham Town Hall (local)
Reporting on a meeting opened by KONP Worcester’s Sylvia Chandler. Well done Sylvia.
http://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/15188997.Meeting_on_the_future_of_NHS_held_in_Evesham/
Stevens says ‘non-urgent’ ops to be delayed
BBC News. Risking a return to the unacceptable waits of the 1980s – or for people to dip into their own pockets when they can afford to (or risk debt when they cannot, to escape the chronic pain)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39420662
Also reported in the Independent
And elsewhere.
Record number of EU citizens quit NHS
Guardian. One of the human costs to Brexit uncertainty and dogma.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/30/record-number-european-staff-quit-nhs-brexit-eu
Followed by a call from MPs to give NHS recruits ‘special status’. Horses and stable doors spring to mind…
Observer, 1 April.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/01/nhs-recruits-special-status-brexit-eu-nationals
2 April
5,000 march in Leeds (local)
Socialist Worker.
https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/44362/Up+to+5,000+march+in+Leeds+against+Tory+health+attacks
And a report with video footage and quoting campaigners, from the Yorkshire Post
3 April
‘NHS wastes billions’
At first site, an attack on NHS ‘inefficiency’, but behind that the break-up of the NHS and use of management consultants are the deeper causes. Sun
Also the Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4377250/How-NHS-wastes-7-6bn-year.html
Look beyond the howls of ‘waste!’ – the fragmentation and reliance on private advice is referred to.
A very busy few weeks for press, on and around the 4 March demonstration. Since then, KONP nationally has received at least one call a week from national outlets, for advice or quotes. Most recent quotes are in the Independent and the Morning Star.
https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-464a-NHSs-leeches-suck-away-at-1bn-bonanza#.WOOEN7GZO7Y
Several branches are sending in press releases – thank you. We need more! Local successes are at least matching national ‘presence’, which is to be expected – but it helps to know of any successes, or even unsuccessful attempts. Please send to Alan Taman: [email protected]
These summaries provide a guide to the main stories in the preceding week, but you can get alerts sent about health stories to yourself every day. This is done through Google news and Google alerts: free services anyone can set up. To find out how to do this, go to the Steering Group, News & Events section on the KONP website (https://keepournhspublic.com/support-konp/steering-group-page/news-events/ ) and look for the “starter set of instructions”.
Mobile devices also have free apps that provide news, which you can filter with varying degrees of control.
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