We now have a new Government and although Ealing Save Our NHS is not party political, its fair to say that none of us had any time for the Tory Government’s policies of the last 14 years – policies of cuts, privatisation, exploitation of staff and cronyism. So their departure is very welcome!
ESON and other campaigners have certainly played their part in highlighting the facts, exposing what was happening in the NHS and ensuring it was the top issue on voters’ agenda.
Labour began its first day of office on the 76th Birthday of our NHS. It has made a commitment to ‘fix’ the NHS and there were some welcome things in the Manifesto like recruiting more midwives and mental health staff, more GP appointments, addressing the growing waiting lists and restoring NHS dentistry.
But there are also some serious concerns amongst campaigners, including the lack of commitment to increase funding, an over reliance on the private sector to fix things, and no concrete policies at all on Social Care.
Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting, has asked Lord Darzi (NHS Surgeon and former Labour Minister) to carry out an independent review of NHS performance. He is also talking to the BMA and other unions, which is an improvement on his predecessors.
Clearly time will tell, but ESON and other campaign groups will keep campaigning for the NHS we want and need. It’s well worth reading John Lister in the Lowdown here
GREAT SUPPORT FOR ESON STALL AT SATURDAY’S NORWOOD GREEN VILLAGE DAY:
We had a very warm welcome from the public on Saturday, with lots of people engaging in discussion and 70 more postcards signed for MPs calling on them to support – 1) Restoration of the NHS, 2) Emergency Funding for the NHS and 3) Ending Privatisation.
Local Councillors and the new Ealing Southall MP, Deidre Costigan, also visited our Stall.
A very enjoyable and worthwhile day – thanks to the Norwood Green Residents Association for inviting us.
EALING HOSPITAL – THE NEW COMMUNITY DIAGNOSTIC CENTRE WILL OPEN IN AUGUST:
This month we met with Pippa Nightingale, the CEO of London North West Trust and Mark Titcomb, the Managing Director for Ealing & Central Middlesex Hospitals for an update on services at Ealing Hospital and in the Trust.
- The Community Diagnostic Centre will be fully open in Ealing Hospital on 12th August. GPs will be able to directly refer patients for a wide range of diagnostic tests including CT scans, MRI, Ultrasound and Heart & Lung function tests, so speeding up diagnosis and treatment – great news for Ealing residents. There will be a Community Launch event in October.
- Another good news story is the new Homeless Pathway Team, based at Ealing Hospital with an initial three years funding. The Team, which comprises of GPs, nurses, housing support officers and an occupational therapist, picks up many of its referrals from A&E at both Ealing and Northwick Park and inpatient teams, seeing up to 50 people a month. As well as support on health issues, the team also provides practical support and advocacy on issues including GP registration, benefits, housing and immigration – a really good initiative. You can read more on Ealing News here.
- A&E waits have improved and there is less pressure on beds so the Trust have been able to close some of their ‘Winter beds’.
- Waiting lists have risen across London by 4%, but the Trust are doing their best to provide more appointments using enhanced rates for NHS staff and of course the new diagnostic centre should certainly help.
- The Trust has recently adopted the ‘Doctor Doctor’ appointment system. Patients are unable to opt out and have raised concerns about protecting patient information as well as the inability to respond. It’s a one way only communication, overloading GPs with queries as a result. The Trust is aiming to address these concerns and improve communication.
THE GP CRISIS – THEY NEED OUR SUPPORT:
It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that our GP Practices are under immense strain, so you can imagine how shocked we were to hear that there are 1000 unemployed GPs in London and 1600 less GPs overall then 2016!
This is disgraceful given the problems many patients have in getting a GP appointment.
You might also be shocked to hear that only a very small part of the NHS Budget goes to primary care – only 9%, and this had led to continual underfunding and GP practices closing under the financial and workload pressures.
The doctors union, the BMA, is formally in dispute with NHS England after the 2024/5 GP contract was imposed with only a 1.9% increase for inflation and population growth. Currently BMA GP members are being balloted on industrial action, which would mean if successful they won’t be doing all the things they do now. The ballot closes on July 29th.
Our GPs definitely need our support, so we hope that the new Government will enter in to talks soon and start to address the crisis.
More on the dispute here
SAVE OUR COMMUNITY PHARMACIES:
Many local NHS pharmacies are on the brink of collapse, despite having proven during the pandemic that they are more needed now than ever. Since 2015, their funding has been cut by 40% and 1400 pharmacies have permanently closed, putting vital NHS services at risk.
Community pharmacies provide vital health and social care in communities across the country, including the most deprived neighbourhoods.
Without fair funding from the Government, many more pharmacies will be forced to close.
Please sign the Petition here and support the campaign to save our community pharmacies
ESON is having a break over the Summer but we’ll be back in full swing in September with a Stall in Acton High Street and our Campaign meeting in Northfields Community Centre on Tuesday 17th September.
