The morning session of the conference was attended by 37 Representatives and concentrated on the effect of the Government's cuts in social spending on the NHS. The Guest Speaker was Cheryl Pidgeon Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, whose contribution contained the following points: -
The NHS reorganisation will cost £3B and cause a serious reduction in the front line staff, the cap has been taken off what Hospitals can now charge private patients. Care will vary, become a postcode lottery, and many vulnerable people will lose out, there will be less nurses on the ward's; 54% of clinical staff will go, with 46% nursing staff, the clinical staff are the lifeblood of the NHS. We should be making the banks pay their share and not the patients.The Coalition's approach to the NHS presents us with a completely different model of health care, which will put older patients at risk, particularly those suffering from Dementia, alcheimers etc. Dementia is not recogmnised as an illness, they have falls and fish up in hospital.
the current NHS Bill is unfair and must be deafeted, we must get in touch with our MP's and get the arguament across that people must be put before profits. There was many quesions and points of view put to Cheryl from the floor: - Ron Dolman we have now got a class budget, Alan M<arshall, some trade unionists accept the arguament that we need the present regime of cuts, John Bradbury, cuts not the only way forward. Cheryl in summing up made the additional points - The NHS in England is different to that in Wales and Scotland, in that ours is being opened up to competition, and means that Hospitals can go bankrupt and close. Prtivatisation always leads to change in conditions and raids on the pension funds. This issue took up the whole morning, was very enjoyable and was folled by an excellent lunch.
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