The NHS crisis hasn’t gone away but the Tories are SELLING your HOSPITALS
Jackie Doyle-Price wants to close her local hospital – and seems to have the support of local voters [Image: Getty].
Almost all of Charing Cross Hospital is to be sold off, with its services diverted to other London hospitals that are already stretched to breaking point.
This is happening in the shadow of the Grenfell Tower fire that put the health service in London under huge pressure.
If you care about your health service, these lines from The Guardian will leave you seething:
Many of the officially published plans lacked precise detail about how local services would change, but internal supporting documents seen by the Guardian reveal the scale of the closures at the London site.
The proposals claim much of the care currently offered at Charing Cross can be transferred to “community settings” such as local GP services, but health campaigners and clinicians say the transformation could endanger patients.
The documents include a map detailing how 13% of the current hospital site will remain, with the rest of its prime real estate in central London sold off. The plan is to introduce the changes after 2021.
NHS chiefs have stated as recently as March that “there have never been any plans to close Charing Cross hospital”, and in March 2015 the then prime minister, David Cameron, said it was “scaremongering” to suggest that the Charing Cross A&E departmentwas earmarked for closure. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, echoed the claims.
However, in the internal NHS documents the apparent downgrading of Charing Cross is outlined in great detail.
Of course, it isn’t only Charing Cross that is facing the axe, according to Evolve Politics:
Charing Cross is thought to be one of five London hospitals that the recent ‘Naylor report’ has claimed could be worth £1bn if sold. This report outlines the upcoming cuts which will see billions of pounds of land, property, and services sold to private firms with links to the government, leaving patients without emergency care.
The Naylor Report was supported by prime minister Theresa May in the run-up to the general election. She was widely criticised during that campaign for having cut the number of police on our streets, leaving us open to terrorist attack, and then accusing those who pointed out our vulnerability of “scaremongering”.
Perhaps we should conclude that whenever a Tory says a claim is “scaremongering”, it must be true?
The Evolve article continues:
These devastating cuts are part of code-named ‘Project Phoenix’- a plan to create regional public/private partnerships to direct the dismemberment and sale of the NHS to private and public government allies. The proceeds from asset sales will be shared between NHS organisations and private firms. Under the plan, London and the south-east would comprise one giant, and very valuable, area.
Jeremy Hunt is putting a price on the head of the NHS, one of the busiest emergency departments in London, and spitting in the face of the dedicated and overworked staff on the frontlines of saving our nation.
What else could we expect, though, from a government that made a health minister of a woman who campaigned for election on a promise to close her own local hospital?
During her election campaign in Thurrock, Essex, Jackie Doyle-Price defended a plan to close the local Orsett Hospital and sell off the land for housing.
According to the Daily Mirror:
Challenged by local residents at hustings she said: “NHS trusts should be free to sell that land if they want.
“That’s exactly what’s going to happen with regard to Orsett Hospital.”
The hospital is earmarked to be sold for housing as part of a major shake-up of health services in the area.
Like their fellows in Weston-Super-Mare, the people of Thurrock can only be said to have themselves to blame for the planned loss of their hospital. They voted for it.
The same cannot be said of people living near Charing Cross Hospital, though. They have a Labour MP.
And, when the Tories decide it is time to sell off your local hospital and privatise its services, what will you say?
Will you be able to announce: “I didn’t vote for this”?
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i didnt vote for ANY of it,nor did thousands of others . NHS sell out, sanctions, cuts every which way you look. or the results of these.. we are seeing more n more of these results almost by the day in horrific events like the terrorist attacks, the Grenfell Tower fire . suicides and other deaths caused by assessments or sanctions.more homeless on the streets or those and others using food bankas more and more. makes you feel so helpless against those in power.they do what they want.
This government is obviously on its way out but I fear for the damage it will do to our hospitals before we finally get rid of it. I wonder if it really can give a provable justifiable reason for its actions and, if not, what address we might have against those who are the main instigators; either now or when we have a decent Labour government!
Doyle-Price says that the NHS can sell of what they like of their properties, because, well, they’re owned by the NHS. Shurely shome mishtake? NHS properties are, in the end, owned by us. But that hasn’t stopped the tories from selling off publicly owned real estate and industries at knock down prices and with disastrous results for us. So what happens to the money the NHS “make” from selling their properties? Is it ploughed back into the NHS system, or does it mysteriously find its way out into the pockets of rich and influential friends of the tories? Since Thatcher, they’re up to every money making trick in the book. I hope when we get a Labour government, the people involved will be held to account.
The better news is that Doyle-Price only has a majority of around 560 and with luck will be out of a job soon.
I agree with you Rupert. They seem determined to do as much damage to all of us as they can before they are finally dislodged from clinging on with their fingertips.
“Project Phoenix” !!?
The whole world is “Project Phoenix”
Did anyone take notice of the 2012 opening and closing Olympics?, there was a massive burning Phoenix suspended in mid air when they portrayed the NHS and other “Old World” memories.
Why is it when greed,total lies, sneaky moves abound not far away will be another hyphonated surname up there dealing the Cons cards. The leader of the Council blaming the fire ravaged residents and the deceased for not wanting sprinklers is another example of just how low these hyphonated Cons will sink. What is it that attracts these freaks to sell their souls? is it the gong for “services rendered” against mankind by selling their souls in the service of their cause….? Is the rewards in what ever shape it finally manifests eg, new Board positions in Companies that benefit from their intentional government local of central decisions? or are they totally bereft of any human feelings to their fellow man? . or just automatoms to the ruling State? Flogging off all our hospital assets to their mates so that there is no going back and the privatisation is a done deal is driven by that Hunt an evil globalists with fingers in many reptile pies who has the blessing of Madam May to continue his good conservative works and lie to everyone. Yes it is ok and allowed in their political religion to lie if it is for the sake of the Party you are only lying to plebs so it does not matter.. And to have the same US Medical reptile, now promoted to actual lead the privatisation and NHS sale-off charge, the same vested interest who put this cunning plan together is basic treason to the electorate. As with the tower disaster ….. just follow the money and you will find nasty Cons under the rock. The recent Tower crowds proceeding to the local Town Hall was not a riot it was a valid protest against greed, incompetence and maybe corruption however I feel in my waters a real riot environment is now getting ever nearer all over the Country. The days of ” Let them eat cake” are numbered.
Mike they are not selling them just like the Bitch Thatcher with Council houses , THEY ARE GIVING THEM AWAY. These animals have to be stopped and NOW.
Unfortunately the public has long been prepared for this by the government and mass media, the continual and continuing claims about Mid staffs for example, which lead to the downgrading of a/e the loss of maternity and children services, and critical care to use a hospital which regularly breaches the 24 hour waiting limit in a/e and has a reputation for discharging people who are not ready to go, meaning they return and spend longer in hospital, but is a PFI hospital, built under the labour government, with massive running charges and they needed the money.
The bottom line is they lied about mid staffs to achieve it, now they are lying about not being able to staff the hospitals or there is not the need for the services, so that PFI hospitals can get the money to pay private concerns.
The idea of care int he community is ludicrous, a, there are not enough G.P.’s to cope with the additional demand, b, G.P.’s are not trained for the type of patient who uses a hospital c, What is now euphemistically named learning difficulties was moved to care in the community, it failed, so Mental health care was moved to care in the community, it failed. The odds are that general care being moved to care in the community will fail are almost certain, but it looks like the government are working on third time lucky.