Press Summary: 9 August

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The following stories were selected from those sent as daily alerts under the search term ‘NHS’, and ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ from the Google alerts service. Please send any comments to Alan: mailto:[email protected]

2 August 

Lancs MP urges residents to fight privatisation (local)

Rosie Cooper, Labour, in piece in local paper. Southport Visitor:

http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/news/southport-west-lancs/west-lancs-mp-urges-residents-11695030

[11 more stories]

Manchester demo makes point (local)

Good local press coverage. Ray Tallis quoted in front of trust quote. Quite right! (But still the exception, unfortunately) Manchester Evening News: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/protesters-stockport-nhs-watch-make-11693614

 

3 August

NHS temp on £60K…a month

On the face of it, a fourth estate attempt to bring excessive waste to light. But part way through we read: “The Daily Mail also revealed how NHS bosses have been able to claim redundancy deals far in excess of their counterparts in the private sector”. This hints at a more sinister agenda: bad comparisons with the lean and oh-so-efficient private sector. Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3720914/Temporary-hospital-boss-paid-record-60-000-month-NHS-despite-Government-s-promise-crackdown-health-service-fat-cats.html

 

A further hint of the overriding agenda can be found in this story, 2 August:

Hunt ‘blasts’ trusts for failure to provide cataract operations

On the face of it, bringing a service to heel that is failing. But cataract services have long been prey to privatisation (eg http://www.midlandeye.com which had such a contract with nearby NHS Heartlands trust) and, accompanying that, NHS ‘initiatives’ which are little more than budgets carved off to give services like these NHS lists to work on. And who promptly boot any patient with a complex condition back to the NHS to sort out. This could easily set up a pressure to privatise as a cherry-picking option. Again. Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3720697/Sort-cataracts-mess-blasts-Hunt-Health-secretary-tells-trusts-stop-delays-elderly-four-patients-reveal-operation-given-sight-lives-back.html

 

Continued on 5 August:

Elderly patient told to wear dark glasses because she is refusing to pay

More pressure to compel trusts to fund cataract surgery. Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3724695/Cataracts-Just-wear-dark-glasses-grandmother-told-Elderly-patients-refused-surgery-NHS-refuses-pay.html

 

5 August

Hospital workers protest over job threat from private firm (local)

KONP Hackney member Helen Matcham is quoted, well done Helen. Hackney Gazette:

http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/health/homerton_workers_protest_over_job_cut_threat_from_private_firm_1_4646168

 

Financial challenges increase for NHS

BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36984039

 

Unrealistic targets will result in rationing

Nuffield Trust report, in Pulse: http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/home/finance-and-practice-life-news/unrealistic-nhs-savings-targets-to-result-in-rationing-report-warns/20032461.fullarticle

 

Reported in more alarming tones by the Sun:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1562181/22billion-black-hole-in-nhs-budget-could-force-hospitals-across-the-uk-to-shut-down/

 

Private interest ruining NHS (local)

Summary of what is happening. Brighton & Hove Independent:

http://brightonandhoveindependent.co.uk/tony-greenstein-private-interests-taking-nhs/

 

8 August

 

Tory plans for privatisation

Justin Madders (Labour MP) blog. Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/justin-madders/nhs-privatisation_b_11388948.html

 

Pressure grows to restore 24 hour A&E at Cheltenham (local)

Gloucestershire Live:

http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/restore-cheltenham-a-e/story-29596672-detail/story.html

 

This service is provided as a guide to the main stories, but you can get alerts sent about health stories 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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