The Keep Gloucestershire's NHS Public campaign hit the headlines earlier this year when a legal challange by 76 year old Michael Lloyd, supported by Gloucestershire anti-cuts groups, forced local NHS bosses to stop plans to take community health services out of the NHS and hand them over to a 'community interest company', with tendering to the full range of private sector vultures due to happen only 3 years later.

The battle to keep these services out of the hands of private sector health multinationals is not over, however. NHS bosses continue to suggest they may pursue a tendering process, a process which as has resulted in Virgin Care taking over health services in Surrey, and Serco taking over in Cornwall - see: for a mainstream media analysis of the effects, as told by a whistleblower. Indeed, 'expressions of interest' have been sought.

NHS bosses can still decide to hand services to a publicly owned, publicly accountable NHS organisation, but need pressure to ensure they take this decision, and do not privatise services.

Please join the co-ordinated county-wide protest rallies taking place in Gloucestershire on Saturday June 16th. If you can't make it, perhaps you can take solidarity action further afield.

See downloadable A5 flyers (2up on an A4 sheet) and posters (2 pages at A5, which can be blown up to A4 or A3). In colour at present, but a black and white version will appear soon.

Protests have always been part of the campaign - there are lots of reports including photos and videos on the website: keepglosnhspublic.posterous.com. For more up to date info see the twitter feed twitter.com/stroudanticuts.