To save our NHS and protect local services we need your support. We need as much help as possible to raise the alarm about the destruction of our NHS and help us fight to keep the services we all need.
Help raise awareness
The basic structure of our NHS has been altered by consecutive Governments since 1948. That initial structure of the NHS would still give us the most efficient and equitable means of delivering healthcare. And just as we did in 1948 we still need an efficient and equitable service today.
Since the introduction of the Health and Social Care Act of 2012 the pace of change has accelerated with endless reorganisations happening. Our media has failed us dramatically through fake news and ommission of news.
As a campaign we aim to keep on top of what is happening and to make sense of the information we are able to access. We hope you will find this website informative, interesting and understandable. If you feel inspired to assist us please read on.
Everyone has something they could contribute to the fight to save the NHS. Whether you want to get involved with this campaign or not, these are a few things we can all do.
- Help us raise awareness, by starting conversations about the NHS, writing on social networks, phoning radio stations or writing to the local paper
- Keep yourself well informed
- Sign petitions, attend protests, come to our campaign events and write to your MP
- Make a donation to help support the work of our campaign
- Join our mailing list so we can keep in touch with you
Exercise your democratic rights
Democracy means so much more than people going to the polls every few years. We have the right to speak out against political changes we are unhappy with and our society depends upon people using this right.
You can both start and sign petitions. This campaign has used the website Change.org to set up various petitions. You can also donate to Change.org so they can promote petitions to more people.
Please sign our latest petition that is calling for Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust to open a new unit for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Prior to the lockdown we regularly organised events from protests to hustings and film or speaker events. Please keep your eye on this website for events that you may like to get involved with.
Support the NHS workforce
Our NHS is at breaking point and so are the people who work within it.
Demonstrating our appreciation of the enormous efforts the workforce is making is very important. But applause doesn’t pay bills. And sadly, many of the NHS staff have suffered real term pay cuts since 2010 of 20%. Now as NHS workers are starting industrial action we all need to show them our support.
NHS workers have been hemorrahging away from the service leaving wards dangerously understaffed and colleagues under increased pressure. NHS workers are not superheroes. Many well-meant posters etc have described them as heroes. But that phrase can give people a sense that they will continue to save lives however badly they are treated. NHS workers are well-qualified, dedicated, hard-working individuals who like the rest of us are not invicible. They deserve fair pay and decent working conditions in order to provide safe care.
If you feel NHS staff should not be paying parking fees at work then you can do two things. Write to the Trust and ask that they remove all parking fees for staff and sign this petition. Talk to the NHS staff you know and ask what are the issues that bother them most.
Fight against privatisation
Privatisation squanders money which goes towards producing profit instead of delivering healthcare. It has also greatly increased inefficiency in our healthcare service. NHS hospitals operate now as conglomerates of different providers all working under one roof. And, it is impossible for them to run efficiently. The different providers do not not even communicate well with each other as they tie themselves up in knots trying to protect ‘trade secrets’.
If you question the validity of the arguments against privatisation just look at America. Their healthcare system is twice as expensive as ours yet half as efficient, More Americans go bankrupt because of healthcare costs than anywhere else in the world. Medicaid may exist but so many people do not qualify for it and often they don’t earn enough to pay hospital bills. Many Americans don’t find out until they are ill about all the things their insurance policy doesn’t cover.
The design of the American healthcare system maximises the amount of profit that corporations can make out of healthcare. The NHS was designed to maximise the amount of healthcare that could be delivered for the funding that was in place. Those two aims are polar opposities and cannot exist together. But over recent years we have started to copy the structures that exist in the US system here.
Be aware that privatisation and all the problems it encompasses is being pushed into our NHS by this Government. Sign this petition calling for privatisation of NHS services to be stopped. But also write to or phone your MP and express your concerns about NHS privatisation.
We must also fight back against creeping racism in our NHS. Workers in our NHS from Black and Ethnic Minorities (BAME) are expected to pay a £624/ year surcharge to receive NHS care unless they have a British passport or indefinite leave to remain. BAME workers make up 1/3 of our NHS workforce and they deserve to be treated with much more respect than this. Please sign this petition calling on the UK Government to remove the immmigration surcharge.
Thank you for reading through to see how you can play a part in helping us protect our NHS. All of us can offer something to this battle. You may have ideas of other things you could do to help, that we haven’t listed here. Please get in touch and let us know. We have a small organising group that meets online and communicates through a WhatsApp group. Please let us know if you would like to be involved in this way and which branch you are interested in helping with. The three main organisers for the different branches are:-
Angie Smith (Wealden) contact: angie4wealden@hotmail.com
Lucette Davies (Eastbourne) contact: lucette888@hotmail.co.uk
Jonathan Lee (Hastings) contact: keepournhspublichr@gmail.com
Don’t forget that running this campaign costs money. If you can donate anything at all to help with our costs it would be very much appreciated. There is a donate button at the top of this website.
