I’ve posted before on the ‘Transforming Community Services’ guidance now being implemented across England. A detailed analysis of what’s happening is here. We have to understand what’s happening in order to resist it.
‘Transforming Community Services’ would be more accurately described as ‘Transferring Community Services’ - transferring them out of the NHS. The clear intention is to strip community healthcare out of the NHS altogether. This has been an ambition of this reactionary Government since 2005. Then, we forced them to back down. Now, they are counting on unions falling into line as a general election looms.
This is an ideological attack, from a Government that has an increasingly open contempt for workers and trade unionists. The NHS was one of the greatest achievements of the last century. If our unions don’t wake up to the scale of the threat here, the loss of the NHS will be one of the greatest defeats of this one.
March 17, 2009 at 4:27 pm |
Thanks for this and the post on the health activists’ network. As a Unison rep it is clear to me that not only is this a battle we need to win but it also gives us (potentially) a platform for real co-operation across all unions in the NHS. It can also provide a public campaign in our communities if we can link into local organisations and make use of local and national media. I’m concerned though that the national leadership may target us if we are seen to be too strident against this government as we approach a general election. However, if we are strong then the fact of a nearing election can work in our favour.