NHS
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Get your Clause off our hospitals! By Jos Bell
An Amendment hastily tagged onto the Care Bill, Amendment 168A (to be inserted after Clause 109) gives the power to any hospital administrator appointed in England to dismantle whichever hospital services they may take a fancy to, as long as they neighbour a hospital which is deemed to be failing. Continue reading
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How to abolish a free health service, step one By David Cullen
The Tory plan to charge migrants for NHS treatment has rightly come under fire for being policy directed at an invented non-issue; because it will therefore probably cost more money than it will save; and because it will change the doctor-patient relation in an insidious way – asking doctors to police their patients. Continue reading
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NHS: Your right to know By Grahame Morris MP
What has often gone unnoticed [in the privatisation of the NHS] is the democratic deficit. The erosion of our rights to question those who run public services and spend our money. This is what prompted me to introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill calling for Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation to be extended to private… Continue reading
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NHS on the brink of extinction By Kailash Chand
In his speech to this year’s Labour conference, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham confirmed that if the party wins the 2015 general election, he will introduce legislation to repeal the Health and Social Care Act 2012 in the following Queen’s Speech. Continue reading
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Waiting times at five-year high in British National Health Service By Mark Blackwood and Ajanta Silva
Waiting times for National Health Service (NHS) treatment now stand at a five-year high. NHS England, the public body charged with overseeing delivery and implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, has revealed that 240,000 patients in England within the last 12 months have been added to the ever growing waiting list—2.9 million… Continue reading
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UK Government moves to make it easier to shut hospitals without consultation By Caroline Molloy
Amendments tabled today to the Care Bill – due to have its third reading in the Lords on Monday – give the government or Monitor the right to order any hospital they like to ‘reconfigure’ – in other words, close – with little consultation, to benefit neighbouring struggling hospitals. Continue reading
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The NHS and dog whistle politics By Kambiz Boomla 15 October 2013
The new Immigration Bill introduces hefty charges for migrants to use the NHS. It is a costly, wrong-headed insult to the migrants – like my father – on whom the NHS has always relied. Continue reading
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People’s Inquiry – a grassroots vision for our NHS? By John Lister
Campaigners fighting hospital closures, cutbacks and the erosion of mental health and other services have years of bitter experience of presenting solid, evidence-based arguments in “consultations” that ignore them and press ahead regardless. I know. In almost 30 years, I’ve been there with them too many times. Continue reading
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The NHS and You: The BBC wants to hear from you
The BBC is asking for your views on its news and current affairs coverage. This is a good chance to feedback any comments you may have on its coverage of the NHS Continue reading
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More competition medicine – now it’s your GP’s turn By Deborah Colvin
Health regulator Monitor – whose primary duty is to investigate anti-competitive behaviour – is currently consulting on the “competitiveness” of General Practice and primary care in general. In particular, Monitor is calling for any evidence that lack of competition acts against the interest of patients. Alongside this, NHS England is consulting on improving primary care… Continue reading
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Asleep on the job – England’s young doctors and the NHS reforms By Guddi Singh
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 crippled the NHS as we know it. Without any mandate from voters the government introduced a top down reorganisation that enables the rapid acceleration of NHS privatisation. The right of private providers to profit from illness is the key driver of the so-called ‘reforms’. For the first time… Continue reading
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Housmans Books Newsletter September 2013
3 September 2013 — Housmans NEWS 1. Housmans New Online Shop – In Affiliation With Hive2. Peace News fundraiser: “Come Out! We Have You Surrounded!”3. The Cally Festival, Sunday 8th September 12-6pm Continue reading
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Your medical data – on sale for a pound By Phil Booth
The government’s announcement today that private companies are to be given access to patient data for the princely sum of £1, is just the latest attack on the principles of patient confidentiality in the interests of commerce. Continue reading
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Paying for private failure in England’s NHS – again By Caroline Molloy
The NHS is paying millions to a failed private Treatment Centre to escape a contract after a series of patient deaths – and the figures don’t quite add up. Continue reading
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Billion-pound NHS contract offered to private health care providers By Joan Smith and Paul Mitchell
The biggest ever contract for the sell-off of public health services in England, worth between £700 million to £1.1 billion, is being offered to private health care providers by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) as part of its “Older People’s Programme”. From July 2014, six National Health Service (NHS) contracts that include… Continue reading
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A golden moment for Lewisham NHS campaigners in Britain By Ruby Waterworth
Today Health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans to cut services and close departments at Lewisham Hospital were defeated in the High Court after a fiercely fought grassroots campaign. Continue reading
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Labour-controlled Welsh Assembly carries out massive attack on the National Health Service By Mark Blackwood and Ajanta Silva
The Labour Party-controlled Welsh Assembly has carried out a massive attack on the National Health Service (NHS), entirely in line with the UK Conservative-Liberal Democrat government’s austerity agenda. Continue reading
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Immigrants to be charged for non-emergency health care in Britain By Jordan Shilton
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has revealed plans that would compel general practitioners (GPs) to refuse to treat “ineligible” immigrants on the National Health Service (NHS) unless the immigrants have paid a £200 annual charge. Behind the proposal to charge immigrants to access the NHS is the drive to completely eliminate free access to public health… Continue reading
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NHS is not safe with UK coalition government: Poll
According to the YouGov survey for the campaign group 38 Degrees, more than two-thirds of the NHS workers think the coalition government’s reforms have had a negative impact on patient care. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 