Following their half-day strike last October, NHS staff are staging a second 4 hour strike, 7-11am on 24th November.
All who appreciate the staff who care for us, our friends and families when we are ill, are welcome at the pickets to show support for the strike.
The pickets will be at the main entrance to Calderdale Royal Hospital, the A&E entrance and the entrance just down the hill from the A&E entrance. Continue reading
As Plain Speaker reported in early October, Monitor is to investigate the reasons why our Hospitals Trust is facing a deficit at the end of this financial year.
Monitor is the quango set up under the 2012 Health & Social Care Act, in order to open up the NHS to EU competition law as a way of speeding up the pace of NHS privatisation.
Moves by Paul Chandler, Regional Director at Monitor, to blame the Trust’s management for the deficit does not distract from the self-evident fact that the looming deficit is the result of central government tightening the funding screws on the NHS. Continue reading
Now the General Election is getting close, and the NHS is shaping up to be a big issue for voters, ConDems are tirelessly recycling claims that they have increased NHS funding and NHS staff.
These claims need unpicking, because they conceal the reality that after nearly 5 years of ConDem government, NHS finances are about to “hit the buffers” – according to the Chief Economist at the Health Foundation. Continue reading
Calderdale Health and Wellbeing (HWB) Board met on 30th October.
It heard that there are no grounds for believing that the new social care scheme, known as Better Care, will keep patients out of hospital. But it went ahead and approved the transfer of £4m this year from the hard-pressed hospital to Calderdale Council’s Adult Social Care directorate. And £15m next year.
The HWB Board also approved Calderdale Council’s and Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group’s joint plan for spending this money. Continue reading
The Board of Monitor (the Ofgem of the NHS, ie the quango that promotes “competition” in the NHS “market”) met on 29th October to deliberate in secret about re-commissioning NHS community services like Locala’s in Kirklees.
Agenda item 7 asked the Monitor Board to note, in secret, “significant developments with regard to the work of the Co-operation and Competition directorate.”
They say if the public knew what the directorate had found, this would “inhibit the free frank disclosure of information.” Continue reading
GPs’ Conflict of interest was an issue at the 1st October meeting of N.Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group (NKCCG) Governing Body meeting, when the Governing Body approved its own member GPs’ Business Cases for:
Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS Campaign Group meets monthly and welcomes new and existing members who want to support the campaign to save our NHS.
If you would like to become a member, please email calderdale38degrees@gmail.com
Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS Campaign are developing some new campaign ideas to save our NHS, that they will present at the meeting. They need support to carry this through. Continue reading
HUddersfield KONP invite anyone who mourns NHS cuts and sell offs to meet at Market Cross, Huddersfield on Sat 1 November at 11.00 am.
This is the gathering point for a dignified funeral march round town stopping off at sites where companies involved in privatisation have a high street presence: Boots, Specsavers, Virgin etc. Continue reading
The entrances to Calderdale Royal Hospital were picketed by striking NHS staff this morning between 7-11am, with many passing cars honking their horns in support.
Members of Unison, Unite, GMB and the Royal College of Midwives stood in the rain handing out leaflets, to explain that years of frozen pay and deteriorating working conditions are making it impossible to retain staff and to care properly for patients. Continue reading
Huddersfield Keep Our NHS Public and Save Calderdale Royal Hospital campaigners want NHS chiefs and Calderdale Councillors to come clean about the damage that funding cuts and privatisation are inflicting on our NHS.
Paul Cooney, a member of Huddersfield KONP, said,
“The Trust’s September newsletter really obscures the truth about the Trust’s worsening financial situation. I have previously called for candour and transparency in their public statements. It is time for the Trust bosses to stop pretending everything’s going to be ok and admit that things can’t go on as they are.”