Over 500 people have so far signed up for the conference, which has been called by Health Campaigns Together, working in partnership with Keep Our NHS Public, the health unions UNISON, Unite and GMB, the PDA union, the TUC, the NHS Support Federation (NHS For Sale), and The Lowdown.
Thursday February 25, 6.30-8.30pm
Register FREE at Eventbrite
Find out more on the Health Campaigns Together website.
This level of interest proves the increased level of public awareness of the failures of private contractors and the proliferation of cronyism in the allocation of contracts during the covid pandemic, which has been a veritable goldmine for private contractors and management consultants.
But while the private sector (not least Tory ministers’ chums and donors) celebrate their new-found riches, the fiascos of failed private services have been exposed to millions.
Privatised test and trace systems have become byword for failure, just as poor standards of hospital cleaning epitomised the failures of the first outsourced contracts in the 1980s.
But in fighting back, the question is how health unions and campaigners can pool their knowledge and work together to develop the right publicity and information to show the folly and expose the waste and inefficiency of privatisation and outsourcing.
Join us online on February 25 for a conference which aims to do just that.
The conference will be prepared by a Conference Resource Pack for each delegate containing Briefing Sheets giving background on current aspects of privatisation, and what we can learn from previous struggles.
It will hear short introductions on each of the topics from campaigners, academics and trade unions, before breaking into workshops to consider and discuss priorities and various lines of argument to reach out to the wider, uninformed public.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth MP will respond to the presentations and outline the opposition view.
Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy will chair the opening session
Privatisation – why it matters: speaker - PAUL EVANS, NHS Support Federation and co-editor The Lowdown
Billions wasted on PPE and Track and trace fiasco: – speaker PASCALE ROBINSON, We Own It
Lighthouse (and mega) Labs: bypassing the public sector: – speaker Ian Evans, Chair, Unite Healthcare Sciences National OPC
The great consultancy boom from Covid to ICSs: – speaker Dr SONIA ADESARA, NHS doctor
NHS cash to the rescue for private hospitals: - speaker David Rowland, Centre for Health in the Public Interest
Privatised staff as second class citizens – and the impact on the NHS:
Speakers: James Anthony, Vice President UNISON; jacalyn Williams acting national officer, Unite: and Lola McEvoy, GMB
Learning lessons past & present: developing popular arguments & accessible information
Speaker JOHN LISTER, editor Health Campaigns Together & co-editor The Lowdown
We need to stop the Conservatives from selling off our NHS. It does not matter what umbrella they put it under it is PRIVATISATION. After hearing how the Torys have exploited this PANDEMIC with dodgy Contracts they cannot be Trusted with our one major Asset the NHS.WE NEED TO STOP THEM