Eastbourne residents made it clear that they care about our NHS this week. On Monday our campaign held another event in the Gather community space of Eastbourne’s Beacon shopping centre. This time we were talking to the public about what the future holds for our NHS. It was certainly clear that many people were extremely unhappy with the standard of care our NHS is now offering. Our population has really had enough of being kept on waiting lists, the difficulty in getting a GP appointment, waiting times in A&E, waiting times for ambulances and much more.
But Eastbourne residents also showed such a passion for their NHS. It is now easy to feel demoralised about the future of our NHS but to hear how much local people care that their healthcare returns to the standards we once knew is inspiring. I would like to thank everyone who came into the Gather and talked to us. We had many long conversations on that day and I hope we will again in the near future.
A chance to tell us how you feel about your NHS
We asked people to look at a list of the current issues that exist in our NHS today and make a mark against any that particularly concerned them. It is so important that we know what is happening to local people and what bothers you. For our campaign aims to restore local services to a standard that the public both need and want. We hope to maintain this idea of getting the local population’s feedback. So if you want to tell us what concerns you the most in our NHS please fill in the form below.
A chance for you to send a message to our MP, Caroline Ansell
We also encouraged the public to fill in a card with messages for our MP Caroline Ansell. Again as so many people chose to do this on Monday we are now giving people a chance to do this online. If you have a question or comment for Caroline please fill in the form below. She will receive copies of all comments that have been made. You can do this anonymously if you prefer.
What needs to be done now to save our NHS
The future of our NHS is undecided. If we look at a ‘do nothing’ approach where we just allow current trends to continue we will end up with an American style healthcare system. This would be vastly more expensive than our own and half as efficient. We too may end up like the Americans with 62% of all bankruptcies due to healthcare costs. If anyone is interested in knowing more about the American system I can recommend the film Sicko by Michael Moore.
But our NHS is still the fourth best healthcare system in the world and our population does not want to see it destroyed. We cannot afford to be despondent any longer. Campaiging is now made easier by the fact we don’t need to be explaining why various complicated and messy acts of parliament will be bad for our NHS. We are now experiencing all the problems they have caused. The only thing that is needed now is a fight to see our NHS restored.
We need to say:
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No to privatisation
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No to funding cuts
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No to out-sourcing
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Fair pay and better working conditions for all staff
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A fully independent review of mental health services
We must remember that in 1948 when Bevan created the NHS our country was deeply in debt after the war. It is a fallacy to say our country cannot afford it as for every £1 invested in improving the population’s health there is a £2-4 boost to the economy.
We can’t afford to not have our NHS
Do you want to help us restore our NHS
If you would like to help us as we go forward in a fight to restore our NHS services to the world class standard we once knew then please sign up to our mailing list. We do not share contact details with any third parties. You would probably get at most 2 emails a month. The form does ask for a phone number from you but this is optional. If you do decide to provide us with a phone number you may receive a phone call to inform you if we have any events planned. It would not be used for any other purpose.
