By Bernie McAdam
The NHS is heading for annual deficits of £2 billion, with regulators calling it the worst crisis in a generation.
Shortages
Already twelve hospital trusts did not have a single bed available from 4 to 6 December. Another thirty had fewer than ten beds free. Waiting time targets are worse than last year, and this winter promises a crisis worse than the last two, as there is no additional money to be had. Last year an extra £700,000 was pumped in; but even that failed to avert a crisis.
It is widely recognised that adequate and high-quality social care is needed to avert a crisis, allowing patients to be discharged and freeing up beds. But the government is also starving social care of funding, despite protests from many organisations including the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the hospital managers’ NHS Confederation. Hospital mergers, the loss of thousands of hospital beds and closures of Accident & Emergency departments are all taking place without any corresponding increase in “care in the community”.
The Tories can’t be trusted with our NHS. Dozens of Tory MPs are making financial gains from privatisation. We don’t need to wait for a Labour government – we can campaign now for a fully funded health service under the control of staff and users
Privatisation
The NHS Support Federation campaign calls this a “crisis created by the government,” which “will then be used as a reason by the Government to dismantle the NHS even more, privatising the system”. This is why £20 billion was lopped off the NHS budget between 2010 and 2015. This is why we had a Health and Social Care Act which has been a colossal attack on a free, universal and comprehensive health service. Instead we have a programme of privatisation in the form of Private Finance Initiative contracts and the outsourcing of most of the NHS budget.
The NHS is under mortal threat from the Tories. We cannot wait for Labour to be elected to defend it. We must fight the attacks in the here and now.
Next steps
We must call on our Labour and trade union leaders to organise a fightback urgently. This means building a mass movement with strikes, occupations and demonstrations at its heart.
That’s why we need to rally around the doctors and nurses, and fight every single cut to the NHS. If our union leaders stall as they are doing now, then the rank and file have to take the initiative and build the action. We should call on our health union leaders to organise solidarity strikes with those in struggle and coordinate national strikes in defence of the NHS. Labour should commit to reversing all PFI and privatisation schemes without a penny in compensation and a massive training and recruitment drive.
