Public+services+-+health+services+-+Local+campaigns+-+Valentines+Day+(14.2.09)

//Press Release - 16.2.2009//
 * Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition **


 * Haringey Residents - on Valentines Day 'We Love Our NHS' protests - call for increased opposition to cuts, closures and privatisation of local health services **
 * There were Valentines Day 'We Love Our NHS' protests in Haringey on Saturday 14th February, demanding improvements to local healthcare services - not cuts, closures and privatisation. Local groups were marching and rallying to also save Haringey's local GP surgeries, the majority of which could be forced away from their local neighbourhoods and into 4 polyclinics around Haringey.**

The day's events were co-ordinated by the Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition, who'd printed 10,000 informative 'We Love the NHS' leaflets for distribution over the last 2 weeks. The protests consisted of two local marches. The first was from Hornsey Central Health Centre in Park Road, through Crouch End and Hornsey to Ducketts Common, called by the Better Local Healthcare Campaign. The second, called by the Laurels Action Group, was from The Laurels Wellbeing Centre, Cornwall Rd, South Tottenham, past St Ann's Hospital to Ducketts Common. Marchers carried an impressive range of banners, and home made placards and flags.

At 1pm at Ducketts Common there was a United Haringey Rally opposite Turnpike Lane tube which included powerful speeches.


 * Keith Flett, Chair of __Haringey Trades Union Council__, and Chair of the __Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition__, thanked everyone for attending. He explained that today's events were one of many such local protests over the last three years in which campaigners were alerting the public to the truth about threats to our NHS services and leading the fightback to defend them.
 * Sue Secher of the __Better Local Health Campaign__, urged patients to fight to protect GP surgeries and other neighbourhood services which were being forced to 're-locate' into polyclinics, including the new Hornsey Central Health Centre. Their group had worked tirelessly in the west of the borough and she was very pleased at the support their march received from people they passed in the street on the way to Ducketts Common.
 * Simon Hester of the __Laurels Action Group__, explained that the new group was formed by patients after the Primary Care Trust secretly decided to privatise the management of a GP surgery based at the Laurels Wellbeing Centre. They had been very active with petitions, lobbies and protests over the last 3 months. In his view all public services were under threat, especially with the current economic crisis, and he expected there would be many more such campaigns and protests to come. Public finances being ploughed into banks should instead be diverted into our public services.
 * Mario Petrou of the __Save St Ann's Hospital Campaign Group__ warned that NHS bosses were planning to sell off much of the St Ann's Hospital site for housing, and that services there were being run down. His group were demanding that the whole site be retained for health-related uses and that services should be expanded and improved there - a general hospital for Haringey should be one of the options considered in the current review of the site.
 * David Singh, Chair of __Haringey Forum for Older People__, noted that this year was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. His organisation was concerned at the way things were going and fully supported the campaigns against cuts, closures and privatisation.
 * Karen Jennings, National Head of __Health UNISON__, pledged to do all she could to oppose privatisation of health services and increased pressure on hard-working front-line staff.
 * Dave Morris, Secretary of the __Haringey Federation of Residents Associations__, and Secretary of the Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition, urged all residents to defend their neighbourhood-based health facilities, and indeed other locally-based services. He was pleased that the Federation had helped, through the Coalition, to build up an active partnership of different concerned organisations.
 * Monica Gort of the __Haringey Defend Council Housing__ brought a message of support and solidarity. She explained that the same problems of underfunding and privatisation threats were being faced by Council housing and other public services, and there were similar protests and campaigns around many of these other issues.

//''Cuts and privatisation threats in the NHS are unacceptable. Everyone should demand that the obscene amounts of taxpayers money currently being ploughed into the failed banking system should be diverted instead into our public services.'// - Simon Hester, Laurels Action Group

__Background information:__

Haringey’s NHS bosses are pushing through a series of outrageous cuts and privatisation. In May 2008 they revealed plans to close 45-48 of our 60 local GP surgeries and force GPs into polyclinics instead. Patients at The Laurels Wellbeing Centre, South Tottenham, are now fighting against their GP practice having been put out to tender on the open market. This threat, if not stopped, could be the first of many, where private companies take over management of our NHS GPs, and other health services.

St Ann’s Hospital faces more ward closures and loss of services, and managers propose to sell off some of the site. Some years back the former Hornsey Central Hospital was scandalously closed down. After a strong community campaign to re-open it, there’s now unfortunately just a polyclinic being built there. In the last 4 years there have also been £15-20m of cuts, facilities closed, reduction in staffing levels and increased pressure on hard-working front-line workers…

The Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition demand…

· more and better services, not cuts · more resources, not budget cuts · more staffing, not less · good neighbourhood facilities, rather than loss of GP surgeries · more public accountability, and less privatisation · genuine empowerment and involvement of users, rather than fake 'consultation' and propaganda

There have been many local protests over the last 4 years. As a result the cuts have become a public controversy, some services have been saved or relocated, and some cuts postponed. This is the same all over the UK as people oppose government-driven policies. The NHS was set up to provide good quality, free health care to all throughout our lives. Public pressure on the Government can force them to provide the funds our local services need.

The Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition is an alliance of local campaign groups and community organisations. Please contact us if you’d like to join in, make a donation [send cheques to ‘HTUC’] or be kept informed: //SHHCC, Union Office, St Ann’s Hospital, N15 3TH// // Chair: keith.flett@btinternet.com Secretary: dmorris@onetel.com //