Demonstrate to defend Oxfordshire's health services

Things are about to get tougher for NHS staff and patients.
£34 million cuts in health across NHS Trusts in Oxfordshire by April 2006.
As the NHS staggers under cuts, closures and redundancies the private sector moves in ... $11 billion is the income for last quarter for UNITED HEALTH, a giant US corporation
in the running to control Oxfordshire's NHS from next April.

Stop the cuts
Stop the privatisation
Demonstrate noon 19th November Bonn Square (by Westgate centre in Oxford)

More details...
In a stunning move Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority has unveiled plans to privatise the management of Oxfordshire's new PCT. By April 2006 if they are successful there would be one county wide PCT - run by the private sector. It would be a pilot for a national roll out of yet
further privatisation.

Plans to privatise services provided by the PCTs by 2008 were announced by the government in July - but in addition this proposal would hand over control of NHS funding to the private sector.

Possible companies who might run the Oxfordshire health system and buy in services include Group4 and United Health Care (a US firm whose new European President was a top Blair advisor). The government would give them the responsibility of maximising patient choice by buying in
beds and operations from the private sector which will divert more funds from NHS hospitals and services.

It is anticipated that if the system were privatised there might be an exceptionally sharp round of service cuts as they moved to bring the NHS into profitability.

It is clear that the government intends to dismantle the NHS. Private sector involvement in the health service was set to grow dramatically, and there is no limit to the amount of work to be farmed out to the private sector.

The whole basis of the NHS is under threat as health corporations are invited to take over more and more of the NHS.

Already the government is encouraging the private sector to cream off the most simple treatments, leaving the NHS to cope with the more complicated ones.

The new payment by results system, which will mean cash follows patients through the NHS, could devastate health services, according to a report by the Audit Commission. Under the scheme, hospitals will receive a fixed sum for each operation they perform. Wards that are less "efficient" or do not attract enough patients will be forced to close.

Demonstrate noon 19th November Bonn Square (by Westgate centre in Oxford)