Public+services+-+health+services+-+Local+campaigns+-+Laurels+Patients+Revolt+11.2008

=**Patients' revolt vs GP privatisation threat**=
 * - health bosses forced to suspend privatisation threat to Tottenham GP Surgery**

Laurels Action Group's Full Objection to the PCT plans
 * - PCT agrees to carry out consultation first**
 * - PCT plans for Polyclinic may be 'improper' use of The Laurels Healthy Living Centre**
 * - Council 'watchdog' committee to 'review the situation' next month**
 * - Action group plan major lobby of the next PCT Board meeting on 26th November**


 * On Thursday 13th November at the Civic Centre a special meeting of the Council's 'Overview & Scrutiny' sub-Committee intervened in the growing controversy over the threat of privatisation of The Laurels 'PMS' GP practice. The practice is based in the Laurels Healthy Living Centre, South Tottenham, which is earmarked by Haringey's health managers for one of their proposed Polyclinics.**


 * There was a powerful presentation** **to Haringey Councillors on the Committee, made on behalf of The Laurels Action Group by Simon Hester, a patient at the practice. As a result the Haringey Primary Care Trust, present at the hearing, had to agree to suspend their tendering process and carry out a full consultion with patients of the surgery. Patients are also challenging the development of a Polyclinic at The Laurels due to the unusual legal status of the Centre, for which the Council are the leaseholders - the PCT's plans are considered to constitute an 'improper' use of this special community facility built with public regeneration funding.**

Simon Hester, explained that the Laurels Action Group was a user group launched at the beginnning of the month at an angry 50-strong public protest meeting. He told the Councillors they had a statutory duty to exercise their 'watchdog' powers over unacceptable proposals for the borough's health services. He said that these latest plans - in which the Haringey Primary Care Trust had scandalously already advertised the surgery for sale - are highly controversial and totally unacceptable because:

- privatisation is an insult to the public service ethos of the NHS and 'those in charge of our healthcare should be committed to patients’ welfare rather than to their shareholders' profits' - there has been a scandalous lack of consultation with patients and users of the Centre who had been kept in the dark whilst the PCT developed the plans behind the scenes - The Laurels is a special community-based healthy living centre bought and set up in 2004 by public regeneration funding for the people of South Tottenham. It was never intended for it to be taken over by the PCT for one of their controversial Polyclinics. Such Polyclinics, if set up, are also in danger of being sold off to multinational corporations by the PCT. - The Council, as leaseholder of The Laurels, will be implicated. They only hold the lease on trust for the people of South Tottenham and should immediately investigate the legal status of the Centre and any plans which would transgress its aims.

Mario Petrou (Save St Ann's Hospital Campaign Group) criticised the plans for a Polyclinic, and spoke up for St Ann's Hospital over the road from The Laurels. He called on the PCT to expand services on the hospital site rather than run them down - it made no sense to move services (like blood testing) into already overcrowded buildings like The Laurels which in any case was set up to complement not replace existing health services.

Cllr Bob Harris (Council Cabinet Member for Adults and Social Services) also spoke out against the plans. Cllr Harris, local Councillor for St Ann's ward in which The Laurels is based, reported that there is a massive mood against the plans locally. He added that he was strongly opposed to the privatisation of NHS services. Cllr Gideon Bull, Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, also spoke out against the privatisation of public services, mentioning the shambles of the railways in particular as a bad example for the NHS to follow. In the light of the current economic crisis he wanted to know from the PCT what would happen if a private supplier went bust.

The PCT have now suspended their privatisation process and have agreed to consult with patients in early December, whilst the Council 'watchdog' committee will reconvene next month following further investigation and updates.

The Laurels Action Group this week launched a public petition and a protest campaign, backed by leaflets and posters. Patients and users will call on the PCT Board to abandon its privatisation plans.


 * Protest lobby of the Primary Care Trust Board meeting **
 * Wed 26th November, 2.30pm at St Ann's Hospital ** (Unit 6), St Ann's Rd, N15

The __weekly Save Our Surgeries / Save St Ann's Hospital patients' protests__ (which started on June 10th - over 5 months!) continue at the entrance of St Ann's Hopsital (HQ of the PCT), Tuesdays. 9am - 10am. The next __Laurels Action Group planning meeting will be on Monday 24th November, 7.30pm__ @ Chestnuts Community Centre, St Ann's Rd.

//' This climbdown by the PCT proves that protests pay. We will be making our point again at the PCT Board meeting on the 26th, and call on patients and healthworkers throughout the borough to fight any attempts to privatise any parts of our public health services.'// - Simon Hester (Laurels PMS surgery patient), for the Laurels Action Group