The New Dark Age

23 November 2015 — 38 Degrees

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is trying to sneak through new NHS plans. [1] The Guardian newspaper has revealed that a key NHS blueprint has been slipped out. Even though the public have a right to comment, the government “has deliberately kept it quiet”. [2] Because of this cover-up, we’ve now got just over 24 hours to flood the Department of Health with messages demanding that our NHS is protected. [3]
It’s not hard to see why Jeremy Hunt would try to sneak his NHS plans through. Our health service is facing a dangerous winter, harmed by needless cuts and privatisation. [4] Hunt wants to claim that the public are happy with the way he’s running the NHS. So the last thing he wants is a huge public rejection of his latest plan.

We’ve got until the end of Tuesday to send our objections to the Department of Health. Let’s tell them that we want an NHS that is properly funded and available to everyone, and that we don’t want privatisation or to have to pay to get an appointment.

Please can you send a quick message now?

The NHS Mandate, which Jeremy Hunt is trying to sneak out, is a big deal. It “sets the government’s objectives for NHS England, as well as its budget.” [5] These plans mean continuing privatisation policies and a dangerous funding squeeze. [6] It would obviously suit Jeremy Hunt to be able to claim that no one objected to these plans!

But Jeremy Hunt has been found out – and luckily we still have until Tuesday evening to protest against his destruction of the NHS. Let’s respond in our hundreds of thousands. Then when the results come out, they’ll be embarrassing for Jeremy Hunt because they’ll prove that the public don’t like what he’s doing to our health service.

Please click here to spoil Jeremy Hunt’s attempt to sneak his plans through – you’ve got just over 24 hours until the deadline, and it will only take you two minutes:

Thanks for being involved,

David, Rachel, Blanche, Emily, Megan and the 38 Degrees team

PS: The NHS belongs to all of us. It’s still something to be proud of, and the staff do an amazing job of looking after us whenever we need it. But after years of privatisation and budget cuts cracks are starting to appear. If we want to still be able to rely on the NHS for years to come, we need to fight to keep it. So please tell the Department of Health you don’t like the direction it’s heading in – click here to have your say:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/nhs-mandate-response

NOTES
[1] The “NHS Mandate” was first reported by OpenDemocracy, and then by the Guardian newspaper:
Open Democracy: Don’t want the government to let the NHS die? Here’s one crucial thing you can do right now:
https://opendemocracy.net/ournhs/caroline-molloy/dont-want-government-to-let-nhs-die-one-crucial-thing-you-can-do-now
The Guardian: You’ve been asked to have your say on the NHS. You just don’t know about it
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/19/nhs-mandate-england-consulation-deadline
[2]The Guardian: You’ve been asked to have your say on the NHS. You just don’t know about it:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/19/nhs-mandate-england-consulation-deadline
[3] In a phone conversation with a 38 Degrees staff member, a Dept. of Health official guaranteed that messages from 38 Degrees members would be accepted “until close of business on Tuesday“.
[4] See for example: BBC: NHS pressure worsens as key targets missed:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34790100
[5] Government website: Open Consultation: Setting the mandate to NHS England for 2016 to 2017:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/setting-the-mandate-to-nhs-england-for-2016-to-2017
[6] Open Democracy: It may not look like it, but Jeremy Hunt DOES have a plan for the NHS:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/caroline-molloy/it-may-not-look-like-it-but-jeremy-hunt-does-have-plan-for-nhs-0