declare:
Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association. By that they mean the death of the National Health Service patients.
of work.
This blatant attack on the health of NHS patients is wrap ped up in hypocritical phrases about ensuring that there are "proper stan dards of care in all hospitals. John Stewart, a member of the HCSA excoutive, says their,action could "inconvenience patients'. Re-assuringly he tells people: "But it is an inconvenience in their interests' RISK As Stewart admits: "We have no douot that there is always a risk of patients dying Which is rather inconvenient for the patients! Naturally Mr. Stewart has no thought of timposing such little inconveniences on the private patients-good busi selmen try not to bite the hand that feeds them. "War to the death if need be" is the rallying cry of the 5,000strong Stepping up their campaign against the Government's proposals to phase out private beds from the NHS and eventually restrict consultants" rights to use what time they want to wotk for private medicine, the HCSA are saying they will close a hospital at the risk of pationts dying uness the Government "gets the message" and gives them better contracts Stewart sees the Castle proposalsmild and conciliatory as they are -as undermining the right of the medical professions, particularly the consultants, to sell their services to the highest bidder. The shortages in the NHS and its chronic crisis of finance to him is something to be used to defend and hang on to those priviIepes.
Health workers must ensure that the attacks of the HCSA consultants are beaten back. Meetings should be held in every hospital and members of the HCSA should be told that any of their actions which lead to any closures or cut-backs against NHS patients will be met with an immediate embargo on all their private patients. Emergency services should be organised to combat the effect of SUBSCRIBE today (17 March) when we will to prevent food and services getting the HCSA ban and the support of junsor doctors and sympathetic consultants should be mobilised to counter the actions of the HCSA.
NOT ACCEPT accept the burden of the capitalist is prepared to impose on the NHS.
exists both inside and outside the NHS, and as long as the doctors are permitted to run the NHS to st their own financial and administra worsen.
These are the reasons why the private practice and struggling to develop a genuine bealth service which serves thie needs of the entire working class taking action to force the Labour available to the NHS can a start be made in creatine a real bealth service.
But, of course, the CP are not At the Westminster Hospital in London the administration is closing down 38 out of 1,000 health service beds over Easter. They claim that this is being done to allow for nurses" holidays and for structural alterations to a ward.
JAMIE MORRIS, secretary of the NUPE branch at the Westminster, talked to JANET MAGUIRE about the action against this decision proposed by his members.
"The hospital administration have dosed down 38 NHS beds until Faster inge daily.
This is bocause the nurses ase due for an extra holiday following the Halesbury report. We therefore want 10 of the 44 private beds in the Westminster to be turned over to the NHS until the 38 beds The porters, domestics and the W'estminster nurses.
maintenance workers are all supporting the ban. We are having a branch meeting decide whether to put up a picket line through to the private patients We will probably sit Span ac Bon committee to Health workers must not however crisis which the Labour Government As long as there is a chronic shortage of finance, as long us private practice tive needs, the crisis will continue to broad working class movement must throw its weight behind the action of those health workor who are lighting Only by the workers movement Government to make adequate funds defend NHS beds tants. co-ordicate the action with mass meet The majority of our members are hove 100 per coot sapport trom them.
None of tie muning staff are support me us. cas a very class conscious hosts tak, the nutsos are told that they are We have got a lot of immigrant wor kum who are worried about their work refore about having their visas with drawn although anagenient have said that there will be no victimsations.
There are some junior doctors who have Jamie Morris, branch secretary of NUPE at Westminster Hospital workers against this Labour Governsaid that they agree with what we are Coi, and would like to sp pay bedsgu However they are afrasd to give sapport to our action for fear of their consulThe private wing is staffed entirdly by wency nanesexcept for the sister and staff nurse who work for the NHS I think petate hospitals should be banned by the Government ar where they are in existence then they should be taken over for the NHS.
We ae going to contict other hospstals for support action, and we are going to ask for a speaker front a hospital where there is a private practice ban I SCOUTESS We will also contact MCAPP ithe Medical Committee Against Privane Practine) to give us advice co how k -DEAR CHE SEE CAE
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WEEKLY War to the death'