Thursday 18 May 2011

Goldsmith Street, Nottingham

Nottinghamshire Save Our Services (Notts SOS) held a picket outside the local NHS "Listening" event to raise their concerns about the Health and Social Care Bill.

About 20 of Notts SOS turned out on 18th May to picket the NHS ‘Listening Exercise’ held at the Belgrave Rooms in the city. Placards and notices saying Kill the Bill, Bin the Bill, Hands Off Our NHS, Sickness is Not a Profit Making Industry, made our point clear. Many people arriving for the event stopped to look at the stall, picked up information and the newsletter and talk, and passing vehicles hooted their support. Some went inside to join the exercise when it began at 6pm, but a presence was kept outside throughout and interested members of the public continued to stop and ask what it was all about.

The listening exercise was run jointly by Nottingham City and Nottingham County PCTs (Primary Care Trusts). Present were PCT staff, and Vicky Bailey who is a member of the government’s NHS Future Forum and chief officer of an existing GP consortium (Principia). The chair of the Future Forum, Prof. Steve Field, said earlier this week that the proposed NHS reforms were unworkable. The Nottingham meeting was overwhelmingly opposed to competition in the NHS and the use of private contractors. But the impression gained by the audience of about a hundred, was that the exercise was only concerned with making cosmetic changes to the underlying plan, and leaving the marketisation of the NHS untouched. 

Ian Hewitt from the Notts SOS campaign said, "The Health and Social Care Bill has been criticised by the British Medical Association, Royal College of Nurses, NHS Confederation, the unions and even the Liberal Democrat spring conference. The government now claim to be listening and our message is clear: save the NHS, abandon the Bill."

No-one who attended could be left in any doubt that the public are overwhelmingly opposed to this government plan.

Notts SOS Reports on Pickets of NHS ‘Listening Exercise’ evenings, Tues 17th & Wed 18th May, Nottingham & Edwinstowe

http://nottssos.org.uk/2011/05/19/report-on-picket-of-nhs-listening-exercise-wed-18th-may-nottingham/

future events:

Notts Uncut Emergency Operation

May 28, 2011 12:00

Outside Boots, Parliament St, Nottingham

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/events/1771

Notts SOS

http://www.nottssos.org.uk

____________________________________________

ALAN LODGE 

Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham.  UK

Email:                 tash@indymedia.org

Web:                   http://digitaljournalist.eu

Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]

____________________________________________

"It is not enough to curse the darkness.

                                   It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"

___________________________________________

<ends>