Health

Epsom in revolt against hospital downgrading

07 October 2006
Thousands marched through the Surrey town of Epsom last Saturday to protest against attempts to downgrade the local hospital.

Now it’s a fight for the soul of the NHS

30 September 2006
The first national strike in the NHS for 17 years began on Thursday of last week. Unison union members at five depots of NHS Logistics - the not for profit agency that supplies hospitals across England - struck for 24 hours in a battle against privatisation.

Health union activist Yunus Bakhsh suspended

30 September 2006
Yunus Bakhsh, a leading activist in the Unison union, has been suspended from his job as a health worker in Newcastle.

‘We are striking to keep the NHS public’

30 September 2006
"Hundreds of Unison members in NHS Logistics have taken part in a national strike to oppose the sell-off of essential public services to DHL - a German parcel courier.

NHS Logistics strike confronts privatisation

23 September 2006
The first national strike in the health service for 18 years began on Thursday evening. The 24-hour strike by 1,000 members of the Unison union at NHS Logistics saw low paid workers in direct confrontation with New Labour’s privatisation policies.

NHS Logistics: a strike to save the health service

23 September 2006
Workers who supply hospitals across England were set to strike this week as part of their battle against privatisation. It will be the first national strike in the NHS for 18 years.

Save Whipps Cross Hospital

23 September 2006
Some 50 health workers and members of the public lobbied the health scrutiny committee of Waltham Forest council in east London on Thursday of last week to oppose drastic cuts in health services.

The NHS is under threat

23 September 2006
The scale of the NHS Logistics privatisation reflects Labour’s wider ambitions to entrench the market in the health service. These plans are driving the NHS into crisis.

Health service round-up

16 September 2006
Whipps Cross fight on Workers at Whipps cross hospital in east London are appealing for support in their ongoing battle for equal pay.

Strike vote to stop NHS Logistics sell-off

16 September 2006
Workers facing the biggest ever privatisation of the health service have voted by three to one in favour of strike action.

Labour orders £22bn privatisation for NHS Logistics

09 September 2006
The government has announced one of the biggest ever health privatisation schemes - selling off the contract to supply and equip hospitals across England. But the workers threatened with privatisation are balloting for strike action to oppose the government’s plans.

Health service round-up

09 September 2006
Anti-cuts march It would have taken more than torrential rain last Saturday to keep the people of Cumbria from marching to stop their Westmorland hospital from closing the essential heart and cardiac ward.

Coventry porters' action wins a cash prize

09 September 2006
Forty porters, members of T&G and Unison, at the new PFI-funded University Hospital in Coventry stopped work for four hours on Friday of last week.

Three-day strike at Whipps Cross fights the Rentokil parasites

09 September 2006
Over 200 workers at Whipps Cross hospital, in east London, struck from Wednesday to Friday last week. They are demanding equal terms and conditions to colleagues directly employed by the NHS.

Whipps Cross hospital workers begin three-day strike

02 September 2006
Domestics, porters and catering staff at Whipps Cross hospital in Leytonstone, east London, began a three-day strike on Wednesday of this week. The workers, employed by Rentokil Initial, are trying to win equal pay and conditions to those employed directly by the NHS.

27,000 on the streets in Cornwall over NHS cuts

02 September 2006
An estimated 27,000 people marched through the Cornish town of Hayle (population 8,317) last Sunday, to protest against hospital closures.

PFI in the health service: the price of a light switch? Just £333

26 August 2006
HOW MUCH does it cost to change a light switch? £333, if you’re an NHS hospital locked into a private finance initiative (PFI) contract.

South Tyneside hospital domestics threaten indefinite strike

19 August 2006
Domestics at South Tyneside NHS foundation trust completed a six-day strike on Tuesday of this week. They are now considering indefinite action.

Racism and the NHS: Treated as 'a lesser being'

14 February 2004
David "Rocky" Bennett was a talented drummer who loved football. He had two children. Those who knew him called him a "lovely man". But Rocky was just 38 when he died on 30 October 1998. He died in a psychiatric clinic in Norwich after four nurses held him face down for nearly half an hour.