NHS

Virgincare gets another slice of the NHS. Soon we'll have to go to the Virgin Islands to get our money back.

https://opendemocracy.net/ournhs/caroline-molloy/cameron%27s-biggest-broken-promise-on-nhs

nhap.org/tories-in-nhs-election-panic/

This is worrying, although not surprising.

www.spinwatch.org/index.php/issues/lobbying/item/5756-the-ninja-nhs-privatisers-you-ve-never-heard-of

This is an interesting talk by Brian May in support of the NHA.

https://audioboom.com/boos/3028343-brian-may-voices-his-support-for-nha-candidate-dr-louise-irvine

She's standing against Jeremy Hunt.
Do any of you believe what Cameron is saying again about his support for the NHS?

because I would rather use the profit (that at the moment goes into share holders pockets) towards more care.

We should introduce the concept of excellence, not profit.

No - looking after grandchildren.

Eloethan, were you there?

www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/protestors_present_tax

Forgive me for being cynical, magpie, but these centres have been on the cards since 2009.
Why has Hunt given the go-ahead a month before the election?

" In his book In Place of Fear, Bevan said: ‘The collective principle asserts that no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means.’

‘No society can legitimately call itself civilised’: now that begs the question, what sort of society do we want to be? What is our vision for ourselves? What are the qualities and the principles that we aspire towards, and choose to defend?

Because it is a choice. Do we want to be a society that is fractured, divided, disconnected? Do we want to be a society that is suspicious and mistrustful of its own people? A society that is exploitative, that sees people as commodities, as numbers. Mere instruments of profit, to be used while they have use, drained of whatever they can offer, and when they are seen as no longer useful, just abandoned, cut adrift. Preferably unseen and never again heard from.

Or … or … do we want to be a society where each person is recognised? Where all are equal in worth and value. And where that value is not purely a monetary one. A society that is supportive, that is inclusive and compassionate. Where it is acknowledged that not all can prosper. Where those who are most vulnerable, most in need of help, are not seen as lazy, or scrounging, or robbing the rest of us for whatever they can get. Where we … we do not turn our backs on those facing hard times. We do not abandon them or exploit their weakness. Because they are us. If not now, then at some point, and inevitably, they are us. "

From open democracy.

Children battling cancer will benefit from cutting-edge proton beam therapy on the NHS for the first time, it was announced today.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt today gave the go-ahead to £250 million plans to build two centres in London and Manchester.

Some good news in The Daily Mail today.

Wasn't it Labour who in 2004 made a cock up of GP's out of hours contracts. Not a Tory in sight then!

Exactly, Eloethan. Although many people say that they have lost faith in MPs, I am sure they do not expect them to behave like this.
I haven't noticed anything about it in the papers. Have you?

This is about the bill.

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/11/nhs-brink-privatisation-health-service-cross-party-bill&sa=U&ei=jHAAVeFZ0ZVq0ZCBwAU&ved=0CAgQFjAB&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNE6TLWlUcf8zyOx10UnXH9j5tZEXQ

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at these MPs making a mockery of parliament but how can it be acceptable or permissible for a serious debate preceding a vote be so blatantly and scornfully sabotaged?

Those members of the general public who have some interest in the current political situation and, in particular, the future of the NHS, will, I hope, reflect on the dirty tricks that some of our elected representatives are willing to play to try and stifle debate and subvert the political process. They might also ponder whether these tactics have received tacit approval from those in high office in the Conservative Party.

I believe some Conservative MPs are also using similar tactics to try and block the bill preventing circuses from using wild animals in their performances.

I've just received this by email.
Has anyone else?

"Hello City of Durham members of 38 Degrees.

Here is something I received yesterday via email that you all may wish to read.
(I belong to Area 1408 in the election.38degrees.org.uk/areas/1408. I may get severely punished by Big Brother for talking to other members outside of my area - but here goes anyway - if anybody else feels brave enough and wants to post this or any other message outside of their sector - please do so and start uniting people behind a plan to defeat the Tories).

38 Degree Members please read the following:

A message from Andy Burnham MP, (Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Health):

"Roger,
do you remember the crucial vote to end Tory privatisation of the NHS we won back in November? You were one of the incredible 136,000 people who signed the petition that helped make it happen.

Well, since then, things have got ugly. Reeling from their defeat in the Commons, the Tories have come up with a new plan to stop our anti-privatisation bill: filibuster it.

Before the bill can be passed, it has to be scrutinised by MPs in the "Committee Stage". But rather than discussing the bill, Tory MPs are deliberately wasting time so we can't get any changes agreed — and that means the bill can't go back for the final vote in the Commons.

Here are just some of the topics — completely unrelated to the NHS — that Tory MPs have been "debating" in the two days they've meant to have been talking about our NHS bill:

Asterix the Gaul
Affinity for Creme eggs
French sociologist Emile Durkheim
Tactics in the Napoleonic wars
The history of papal doctrine
Norse gods and their relationship to the Tory logo
Drinking habits of William Pitt the Younger
Medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer
Bringing candles into the committee room
Why sleeping pills say "may cause drowsiness" on them...
...and popular '90s soft drink "Sunny Delight"
It's clear they're going to pull every dirty trick in the book to stop us getting our bill passed before the election. So if we want to end the privatisation of the NHS, we're going to have to do it ourselves, in government."

(I subsequently posted this message on to 38 Degrees in London - so I hope they got the message as well). 38 Degree members, it's time to wake up and find a better alternative Plan B. Any ideas? We could all wait for 38 Degrees and its rapidly growing membership (thanks to our work on the streets) to politely ask all incoming newly elected politicians after the next election to try to behave themselves - that should work.... A great idea - why didn't I think of it?

The Tories are serious and they are ready to take our much loved NHS to the cleaners and give it away to some global finance company or foreign healthcare company (who love to treat patients for profit). PLAN B is out there somewhere just ready for activating. "

Should MPs really behave like this?

www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/09/nhs-shakeup-ccgs-conflicts-of-interest-unite-union

I'm sure we were not told this would happen. 25% of CCG members have links to private healthcare.

nhap.us7.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=937c3e62bc24fa37708920cc9&id=f8b15d84ed&e=716bee6853

Campaign for the reinstatement of the NHS.
A way to find out what your parliamentary candidates are thinking.

38 degrees works. All these people against what the government is doing.

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/m/74c07ef5/2d420d21/43ab0c86/464b2acf/904456902/VEsA/

I`m with you Hollydaze. Ten years or so ago, I was working in a large city hospital on a voluntary basis offering my clerical skills. There were a huge number of volunteers in thehospital at that time working either on the wards or in the offices. This form of cheap labour was stopped some years ago. During my time, I was asked to show a driver from a private company where to put a huge delivery of stationery. I took him to the massive stockroom which was already bursting over. I checked the delivery note against the old stock and told him new stock not required. To which he replied that it was a monthly order budgeted for that financial year from hospital finance team!

On many occasions during my time, there were people who came to A&E who could not speak English other than "free food" or "medicine". I can honestly say that none where emergency cases. I was so angry that I put forward a suggestion to the Sister in charge they should ask for passport id and then send invoice to respective consulate. It was implemented after some time but the passports were very strange. One passport per 20 or so people with same photo!

Nursing staff brilliant and I would go extra mile anytime for them - but what a way to run a hospital. If it were run as a business, it would stop leaking money and resources. But then Labour governance not noted for common business sense.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/07/jeremy-hunt-accused-cover-up-critical-nhs-report-tory-mp

It's his own party criticising him. About time, too.

changeday.nhs.uk/

This is on Wednesday. It looks quite interesting.

Yes.

I have posted before how a GP friend of mine went part-time , as did some of her colleagues as she could afford to. How, the Labour contract which made it viable! 2 retired early , within a few years because it was such a decent pension.

She has now returned to full time working to pay for education as the kids have grown but she has said she will return to part time working and will retire earlier than she imagined when she first became a GP! Because it will be affordable!

pulsetoday.msgfocus.com/c/12xt4AhtmOm4Ii6pDc6P9El1

50% of GPs are going to retire early.
Are you worried?

The People's NHS has set up a petition to get MPs who have benefited from the near privatisation of the NHS to donate their gains to a health charity.
An excellent idea, I think, particularly as many of them say they do not wish to benefit from the NHS.

action.peoplesnhs.org/page/m/6d17e458/d866ace/1bc98fb1/153d6403/1183553454/VEsE/

They have nearly 10,000 signatures so far. More would be welcome.

www.onmedica.com/newsarticle.aspx?id=c08db7ff-4728-45e9-954b-8ddea2f43332

A crisis in the NHS within a year. Aren't Monitor the ones who are supposed to be in charge of the NHS?

Anyone having difficulty seeing a GP, this is why.
pulsetoday.msgfocus.com/c/161eHNyNSSipB7xoMFEVKDn