BMA ‘Plan B’ Ballot Highlights Growing Concerns Over the Future of NHS General Practice
The British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed plans to ballot GPs in England on a potential “Plan B” for general practice, reflecting growing concern within the profession about the long-term sustainability of NHS primary care. The proposal follows a vote at the UK Local Medical Committees (LMC) Conference, where GP representatives supported exploring alternative models of service provision, including greater freedom for practices to offer private services alongside NHS care. (British Medical Association)
Under the proposed Plan B, GPs would be consulted on whether alternative contractual arrangements should be considered, including models similar to those used in NHS dentistry. These could involve means-tested or subscription-based services, allowing practices to provide services that are not currently available under NHS contracts. The BMA has stressed that this is not a proposal to immediately leave the NHS, but rather an attempt to examine possible alternatives if current pressures on general practice continue to worsen. (British Medical Association)
The move comes amid widespread dissatisfaction with the 2026/27 GP contract. The BMA argues that years of underinvestment, rising patient demand, increasingly complex health needs, workforce shortages and growing administrative burdens have left many practices struggling to deliver safe and sustainable care. Particular concerns have centred on requirements for unlimited same-day urgent access and the removal of limits on online consultation requests, which many GPs believe increase workload without corresponding investment. (British Medical Association)
BMA General Practitioners Committee (GPC) chair Dr Katie Bramall said confidence in the future viability of NHS general practice is at an “all-time low”. She warned that successive governments have failed to address longstanding concerns about funding and workload, leading many GPs to question whether the current model remains financially sustainable. According to the BMA, the exploration of alternative service models is a direct consequence of these systemic pressures rather than a desired shift away from NHS principles. (British Medical Association)
The debate has intensified following the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) response to the proposal. The Government has made clear that it opposes any move towards private, subscription-based or means-tested GP services, arguing that such an approach would undermine the NHS principle of healthcare being free at the point of use. A DHSC spokesperson stated that a two-tier system would not be in the interests of patients or the NHS and could worsen existing health inequalities. Instead, the Government says it wants to work with GPs to create a sustainable future for primary care through investment, workforce expansion and improved access to services. (Pulse Today)
The BMA has indicated that the ballot could take place at any point during the next BMA session, beginning after the union’s Annual Representative Meeting in June. Details of the ballot, including its wording, format and exact timing, are still being determined. The union has emphasised that members must be fully informed before any vote takes place. (Pulse Today)
Some GP leaders have suggested that exploring alternative models could strengthen the profession’s negotiating position during ongoing collective action against the imposed GP contract. Others view the discussion as evidence of the severity of the challenges facing general practice. While supporters argue that alternative funding models may be necessary to preserve the future of the profession, critics fear they could erode universal access to healthcare and fundamentally alter the relationship between patients and their family doctors. (Pulse Today)
Overall, the proposed ballot represents a significant moment for general practice. Although no decision has been made to move away from the NHS model, the willingness of GP leaders to formally consider alternatives highlights the depth of concern about funding, workload and the future sustainability of NHS general practice. (Pulse Today)
Recent reporting has intensified concerns around Palantir’s controversial role in the NHS’s Federated Data Platform (FDP), a £330 million system intended to improve how health data is shared and analysed across England.
An investigation by Democracy for Sale revealed leaked internal NHS documents describing Palantir’s software as “slow and clunky”, with some tasks reportedly taking up to ten times longer than existing NHS tools. Critics argue this undermines claims that the platform would improve efficiency and patient care. Read Article Here
At the same time, NHS analysts and data professionals have publicly raised concerns about the FDP’s long-term impact on patient trust, local NHS autonomy and the future of public healthcare data systems. Writing in openDemocracy, the group “NHS Analysts Together” warned that the platform risks centralising power within a single private supplier while sidelining locally developed NHS expertise and infrastructure. Read Article Here
The debate reflects wider unease around Palantir’s expanding presence in UK public services. Campaigners, MPs and healthcare workers have questioned both the technical performance of the FDP and the ethics of handing sensitive NHS data infrastructure to a US technology company with deep links to defence and surveillance work.
North West London recorded 80.1% of patients being seen within four hours across all A&E types, against the 95% target. This is 6.0 percentage points above the national average of 74.1%.
For Type 1 major A&E departments only, performance was 62.0%, compared with the national Type 1 average of 59.4%. This places North West London 12th out of 42 systems.
Overall, North West London is ranked 2nd out of 42 ICBs for four-hour performance, placing it in the top quarter nationally.
There were 435 patients who waited more than 12 hours from decision to admit, against a target of zero. On this measure, North West London ranked 37th out of 42 (where 1 is highest).
During the month, there were 15,110 emergency admissions and 94,502 total A&E attendances across all types. Of these, 47,052 were at Type 1 major A&E departments.
Providers in this ICB
London North West University Healthcare: 25,851 attendances; 75.1% seen within four hours; 1.0 percentage point above the national average; Type 1 performance 49.2%; 374 12-hour waits.
Imperial College Healthcare: 21,413 attendances; 77.0% seen within four hours; 2.9 percentage points above the national average; Type 1 performance 59.2%; 0 12-hour waits.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: 24,590 attendances; 78.4% seen within four hours; 4.3 percentage points above the national average; Type 1 performance 73.0%; 43 12-hour waits.
The Hillingdon Hospitals: 10,575 attendances; 81.2% seen within four hours; 7.1 percentage points above the national average; Type 1 performance 57.5%; 18 12-hour waits.
Central London Community Healthcare: 11,293 attendances; 98.6% seen within four hours; 24.5 percentage points above the national average; no Type 1 service; 0 12-hour waits.
The Pinn Unregistered WIC: 780 attendances; 100.0% seen within four hours; 25.9 percentage points above the national average; no Type 1 service; 0 12-hour waits.
2025 has certainly started with a raft of Government announcements and frankly they have not been good news.
Our NHS is clearly in crisis but instead of providing emergency funding for the NHS, Keir Starmer’s Government has agreed a long-term deal with the private health sector worth an estimated £2.5 billion of public money to help reduce waiting lists, rather than expand the NHS, much better placed, to do this.
It was hard to ignore the damning and distressing report from the Royal College of Nursing that dominated the media recently. It certainly revealed the depth of the crisis in the NHS, where treating patients in corridors has become the norm in A&Es.
Despite Health Secretary Wes Streeting, saying he feels “ashamed” by the experience of some patients of the NHS this winter, he refused to commit to immediate resources in a recent debate – “We cannot and will not promise that there will not be patients treated in corridors next year.”
Ironically, the worse it gets in A&Es, the more resources are taken away from elective care and waiting lists go up!
John Lister, long time national campaigner and co-editor of ‘the Lowdown NHS’ explains in his latest article why the Governments ‘Elective Reform Plan’ will actually make thing worse. Instead of expanding the NHS, which provides the overwhelming majority of elective care as well as emergency and diagnostic services, the Government’s focus is on cutting waiting lists by using private providers.
The private sector is being asked to provide an extra 1 million appointments a year, on top of the 5 million appointments and treatments it provides now – no wonder they are happy! The Guardian estimates this means an extra £2.5 billion flowing out of the NHS.
However, this will undermine the NHS by diverting both funds and staff, since the privatesector relies heavily on using NHS trained doctors, and will undermine other core aspects of the NHS –
It is bad news for those with more complex health issues on the waiting list who only the NHS is equipped to treat – they will have to wait longer;
It does nothing for beleaguered emergency services;
It does nothing to address the gaps in mental health care;
It does nothing to address the chronic state of many hospitals, in danger of falling down, and now Wes Streeting has said that hospitals like St Marys and Charing Cross will have to wait until 2035 for desperately needed rebuilds!
Nationally, Keep Our NHS Public is stepping up its campaigning against privatisation of our health services and in particular the Government’s New Deal with the private sector.
Please join Ealing Save Our NHS and other campaignersoutside Parliament for a Rally for the NHS to tell Keir Starmer toinvest in the NHS – not the private sector! We will be hearing from MPs, health campaigners, and others – please come and spread the word.
The Rally takes place after PMQsat 12pm on Wednesday 26 February, opposite the Houses of Parliament.
UPDATE ON EALING HOSPITAL:
We recently met with Mark Titcomb, the London North West Trust Managing Director for Ealing & Central Middx Hospitals who save us an update on services in Ealing Hospital and the Trust.
A&E waits and Pressures: Luckily, London hasn’t been hit as hard by flu and other viruses as other hospitals around the country so it was reassuring to hear that Ealing Hospital is managing to cope with winter pressures, although it’s very busy. Ealing has extra winter beds – a small silver lining from the previous closures of paediatric services.
On the bad side, the waits for mental health treatments are worsening due to the shortage of acute beds (33 beds closed in Ealing and 13 lost overall). In one case it meant a mental health patient waited in A&E for two days until a suitable bed was available.
The newEaling Community Diagnostic Centre is now pretty much at full tiltandwelcomed its 2000th patient just before Xmas. They are getting great feedback and provide CT MRI, Dexa scans, Ultrasound, X-Ray, cardiology, lung function and blood tests – with more to be added in Spring. Referrals are mostly from GPs directly. It covers North West London but is based at Ealing Hospital so is especially good for us in Ealing.
North West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre: This Central Middlesex based service has now been running for a year to shorten the wait for surgery and reduce stays in hospital. Over 3,000 patients from across North West London have passed through this ‘fast track surgical hub’ mostly having knee and hip replacements – without the need to use the expensive private sector Mr Streeting!
Shortages of Staffhave meant that the Trust has had to use radiologists, anaesthetists and ENT staff from the private sector as well as to farm out test analysis abroad. Hopefully planned recruitment will alleviate this.
History of Ealing Hospital Exhibition –A free public exhibition about the history of Ealing Hospital and its predecessors including Ealing Cottage Hospital is now on show in the hospital’s Galleria area on Floor Three.
Ealing Save Our NHS took our colourful street stall to Ealing Broadway last week, our first in 2025. February is a month of action for ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ groups, like us, so we gave out lots of KONP’s latest leaflet, which calls on the Government to fund the NHS, not the private sector!
We also collected lots more Postcard to MPs. Quite a few people expressed disappointment with Keir Starmer’s Government on the NHS and were expecting a commitment to properly fund it.
‘COMPASSIONATE CARE FOR ALL’ – GOOD NEWS FOR SOME BUT NOT OTHERS:
NHS North West London NHS (ICB) is currently consulting the public on options to improve adult community specialist palliative care services. These are services to provide relief and support for people with serious or life limiting illnesses. Care can be in a hospice, at home or elsewhere in the community such as care homes.
NHS NW London’s stated aim is to deliver services that meet people’s needs, are fair and accessible and provide better care and outcomes for patients and their families.
Some of the service improvements being proposed are: –
24/7 specialist phone advice – currently only 9 -5pm for Ealing residents
Hospice at home, provided by specialist teams – we don’t have this in Ealing, only general support from GPs, District nurses etc
46 new enhanced end of life beds, for those who don’t need hospice inpatient care, across all Borough. Ealing we will get around 9 of these beds. They will also be used to provide respite care.
Dedicated bereavement and psychological support – very patchy in Ealing.
In Ealing we are fortunate to have Meadow House, an NHS funded hospice that provides excellent specialist palliative and end of life care and 15 inpatient beds. These services will be on top of that.
Unfortunately, the preferred option (Option A) for NHS North West London is to permanently close the 13 specialist inpatient beds at the Pembridge Hospice in North Kensington – despite an aging population and growing numbers of people living alone. Therefore we support Option B which includes reopening these beds.
ESON has submitted comments and questions and our supporters have participated in the consultation meetings, which were better than previous consultations.
However basic questions remain about the funding and staffing needed to deliver the services, which are not addressed in any of the documents.
The Consultation closes on 24th February 2025 – you can still have your say by filling in the survey here
STOP PATIENTS DYING IN CORRIDORS – PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION’ by ‘We Own It’
This is a call on the Government to respond to the emergency in our hospitals and re-open the 100+ urgent and emergency centres, including 24 A&Es that have been cut.
The crisis in the NHS is now very much in the news following the publishing of Lord Darzi’s review into the NHS.
In July national figures for bed occupancy were on average at 92%, worse in North West London, at 93.2% and in our local Trust at 94.6%. The safe level is 85%. The primary reason for these high figures, as we know, is the unforgivable lack of adequate community and social care to support discharge, which has a knock on effect on A&E waits etc.
Pressure on our GPs has reached crisis point after years of underfunding so they are taking ‘collective action’ to try and protect their patients and the viability of their practices.
Only the kind of investment which took place over the previous Labour Government can begin to address the problems. Yet more re-organisations and use of the parasitic private sector will make things worse – but that’s exactly what lobbyists are aiming for.
The signs are not good, but thankfully the new Government has at least quickly settled the Junior Doctors dispute. Let’s hope they will also give some justice to other staff especially our hard working GPs.
GPs ARE TAKING ‘COLLECTIVE ACTION’ AND WE SHOULD SUPPORT THEM:
Years of underfunding and diminishing GP numbers has taken its toll on GP practices. Patient satisfaction has plummeted and GPs believe that the quality of care they provide has declined. General Practice is the foundation of the NHS and it’s now at a crisis point. Our GPs are saying enough is enough and taking ‘collective action’ – it’s technically not industrial action as they are not employed by the NHS, like nurses or hospital doctors.
So how did things get so bad?
There are now 1,700 fewer full-time equivalent GPs in England then in 2016, while patient numbers have risen by over 6 million.
GPs workload has become more complex and keeps increasing as extra work is passed down from other parts of the NHS.
An additional pot of funding for GP practices staff did not allow surgeries to employ extra GPs, leaving thousands of locum and newly qualified GPs without jobs.
Below inflation funding rises have cut GP budgets in real terms and the 6% rise offered by the new Government still leaves funding below its value in 2018-19. The core funding for each patient per year is now just £107.57 – just 30p a day.
General Practice gets just 8.4% of NHS funding for handling up to 90% of direct patient contact with the NHS – pretty astonishing – it is no wonder that GPs have had enough!
What action are GPs taking:
Under the banner of ‘Protect your Patients, Protect your GP Practice’ the doctors union, the BMA, has listed 10 actions that GPs may choose to take.
These include; no longer doing unfunded work to plug local service gaps; not using time-consuming online or other referral forms; not allowing themselves to be used to ration care or medicines or participating in pilot schemes aimed at changing General Practice without proper agreement.
Some GPs are also limiting patient consultations to the recommended safe limit of 25 per day, instead of the current 40–50 per day, but aiming to see almost everyone face-to-face. They are sending other patients who need to be seen to Urgent Care settings instead.
They plan to continue their collective action until they get a new general practice contract that is right for patients and fair for GPs
At the end of last month Ealing Save Our NHS took our colourful Stall to the Acton Market place and as usual had a great response. Lots of people queued up to sign our postcards to MPs, calling for emergency funding and an end to privatisation. It’s great to hear about peoples experiences of the NHS and GPs and some of the problems – as well as hearing about fantastic treatment, some of it life saving.
Our next Stall is on Saturday 12th October from 11.30 – 1.00pm in Ealing Broadway outside Marks & Spencers – please come and join us if you can.
DARZI REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS MANY OF THE PROBLEMS FACING THE NHS:
Last month Lord Darzi published his independent investigation of the NHS, commissioned by Wes Streeting, Health & Social Care Secretary.
Darzi identifies the NHS re-organisation as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 – ‘a calamity without international precedent’ and the years of austerity, as the cause of the current state of the NHS and its lack of capacity to deliver surgeries and tests, resulting in over 7 million people currently being on NHS waiting lists.
However what he fails to identify is the other key impact of the 2012 Act , which has had a disastrous impact on the NHS , namely privatisation.
So what does Darzi say is the solution?
Darzi points to the decade of restorative funding in the 2000s as evidence of a well-run health service, when patient satisfaction was high, for both GPs and the NHS . The targets for A&E and hospital treatment were well met by 2010.
Although the remit given to him by Streeting prevented him from making funding recommendations, he is absolutely clear in his findings on the damage of underfunding since 2010:
‘The 2010s were the most austere decade since the NHS was founded, with spending growing at around 1 per cent in real terms. (Since then) the NHS has been starved of capital and the capital budget was repeatedly raided to plug holes in day-to-day spending.’
How has the Government responded:
When Secretary of State Wes Streeting, announced the Darzi Review was being held, he said that it would aim at ‘diagnosing the problem’ so the Government could ‘write the prescription’.
Sadly’ so far the ‘prescription’ doesn’t sound very promising, with no new money in the short term to alleviate any of the problems as we head in to Winter, an over-reliance on the private sector to treat more patients and bring down waiting lists, and yet even more reforms.
As ‘Keep our NHS Public’ say in their response to Darzi –‘ Will the Government rise to the challenge, or mistakenly conclude that the wrong treatments – ‘reform’ and further austerity – are just what the doctor ordered? …this would be a rebuff to Lord Darzi and – more importantly – a huge tragedy for patients, staff and the NHS.”
More on the Darzi Report from Keep Our NHS Public here
What Lord Darzi review missed, from anti privatisation campaign ‘We Own It’ here
JOIN US TO DISCUSS THE DARZI REPORT ON TUESDAY 15TH OCTOBER:
You are very welcome to join our discussion on Darzi at our next online Meeting. We have an excellent guest speaker, DrCoral Jones from ‘Doctors in Unite’. She is a campaigning GP and member of Hackney Keep Our NHS Public. Coral will be giving us some more insight on the implications of the Darzi Report, Labour’s response and where next for campaigners. There will be plenty of time for questions and comments.
Earlier this year we reported on plans by NW London NHS bosses (ICB) to remove same day emergency care from GP practices and replace it with ‘Same Day Access Hubs’ covering a group of surgeries and staffed mainly by non–doctors, such as Physician Associates. The plans caused outrage among GPs, campaigners and other residents and the plans were temporarily put on hold.
Over 14,000 residents signed the petition strongly opposing the move away from GPs crucial role in diagnosis and making decisions on treatment.
Whilst the NW London NHS bosses (ICB) have not formally withdrawn the idea of Hubs, they have admitted that improving access is ‘multi-faceted’ and that ‘one size does not fit all’.
They are now embarking on an engagement exercise, to be led by Primary Care Networks, which are local groups of GP practices. This engagement exercise mainly involves sending patients a survey and one or two face to face events.
The ‘engagement’ was supposed to take place between September and the end of October, but it seems a number of GP practices have not even seen the survey and were unaware they were expected to send it out – and they control patient lists, not the PCNs.
We look forward to hearing the outcome of this exercise and whether it actually provides a coherent picture of access needs and best practice, which we doubt.
COME TO THE SOS-NHS NATIONAL CONFERENCE:
SOS NHS is an alliance of over 50 groups including many of the NHS unions such as the BMA, Unison and Royal College of Midwives, national NHS campaigns such as; Keep Our NHS Public, We Own It and Just Treatment and many more.
The organisers say – ‘There is a deep crisis in the NHS. Hospitals are crumbling, waiting lists are millions strong, and more services are being outsourced with NHS staff overworked and underpaid’.
‘Join us at Hamilton House on November 2, along with key activists, trade unionists and politicians to examine the state of the NHS and how we might go about saving it’.
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 NHSand 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.
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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.
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.
After 14 years of Tory cuts, underfunding and privatisation the NHS desperately needs a new Government. It will need to address the growing waiting lists; ambulance and GP waits; lack of NHS dentists, inadequate mental health provision, crumbling buildings, staff retention and low morale, fix social care and more ( IT’S A LONG LIST!)
Unfortunately neither Labour on any of the main parties have made a commitment to give the NHS and Social Care the funds they so urgently need. So, whoever gets elected it will be up to campaigners, unions and the wider public to pile on the pressure to achieve this.
Our postcards to the newly elected MPs are very timely indeed – and we won’t let them off the hook!
‘Keep Our NHS Public’have produced an excellent Election Statement for voters so please do take the time to read it. (See below)
IT WAS CARNIVAL TIME IN HANWELL ON SATURDAY :
One of ESON’s favourite events of the campaigning year took place on Saturday 15th June.
Our postcards to MPs calling for emergency funding and an end to privatisation were very popular, with around 125 filled in, despite the awful weather and our poor location. These were posted in ‘our huge postbox’ and will be sent to our newly elected MPs after 4th July ( thanks to Arthur our Treasurer for the postbox).
Oliver, our Chair, had also designed some new posters with the same election message calling forurgent funding and ending privatisation.
We also collected lots of signatures for the ‘Doctors Not Call Centres’ campaign in North West London and had nice posters to go with this too
Overall a good day for us campaigners.
GENERAL ELECTION: RAISE THE CALL – ‘RESTORE THE PEOPLE’S NHS’
There is without a doubt huge public support for the NHS and for a new Government with policies that will address the Crisis.
‘Keep Our NHS Public’ will be highlighting the record of those in government and asking voters to select those who will best support a public and well-funded NHS, and move to establish a publicly funded national care, support and independent living service.
“This requires a fundamental change in perspective – one that regards funding of public services as an investment in human well-being and an underpinning of a productive economy. Good public services maximise the ability of people to participate in society and a productive economy – they are not simply a cost to be grudgingly accepted”.
ASK YOUR LOCAL CANDIDATES TO SUPPORT THE ‘WE OWN IT’ NHS PLEDGE:
This is a great initiative from ‘We Own It’.
They are asking us, the public, to use the power in our hands to save our NHS this general election and join tens of thousands of people – including celebrities – to demand our local candidates take the ‘Pledge for the NHS’.
By taking the ‘Pledge for the NHS’ candidates will be promising that if elected they will demand the new government,
Reinstate the Health Secretary’s legal duty to provide healthcare to all
Give the NHS £40 billion more per year to catch up with equivalent European countries
End outsourcing – bring services back in house as contracts end
You just have to click here to send a letter to local candidates. Let’s bombard them because so far only three candidates from the whole of Ealing have signed the pledge!
RESTORE THE PEOPLES NHS
With an Election coming up, the ‘Restore the People’s NHS’ London conference is a big opportunity for NHS campaigners, newcomers and all those passionate about ending the NHS crisis and saving it for future generations to come together.
NHS activists, health workers, politicians and respected experts will be speaking about how and why we should be fighting for a full restoration of the founding principles of the NHS.
The impressive line-up of speakers includes; Johnbosco Nwogbo (We Own It); Dr Pallavi Devul (Green Party Health Spokesperson); Andrew Matheson (A&E Doctor & SOSNHS) John Puntis (KONP) Diane Abbot (ex- Labour Shadow Health Spokesperson) Mark Thomas (99% Organisation and Rational Policy Makers Guide to the NHS)
Whilst our GP services remain under threat from the NHS bosses’ plans to hive off same day emergency care in to ‘hubs’, in our Hospitals there is good collaborative working to improve services for patients.
On Monday 13th May the North West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre was formally launched at Central Middlesex and is proving to be a big hit with both patients and staff, as well as helping to bring waiting times down – so definitely a good new story.
Here in Ealing the Community Diagnostic Centre is on course to open on 24th June in Ealing Hospital allowing GPs to directly refer patients for scans and other diagnostics – definitely another good news story.
GPs STILL UNDER THREAT FROM ‘HUBS’ PLAN:
Plans by NW London NHS bosses (ICB) to remove same day emergency care from GP practices and replace it with ‘Same Day Access Hubs’ staffed mainly by non – doctors were leaked in January and caused outrage among GPs, campaigners and other residents- none of whom had been consulted.
‘Hub’ call handlers, like NHS 111, would divert almost all callers to non–doctors such as Physician Associates, Pharmacists and Nursing Associates – with a token GP to “supervise” the handling of calls.
Our GPs have raised huge concerns about the risk to patients safety of diagnoses being carried out by non-doctors and the loss of continuity of care and undermining the patient GP relationship – and we agree!
A campaign was launched and publicised in our March Newsletter, which has resulted in the bosses plans being ‘paused’, but the threat to our GP practices still remains.
No pressure from NHS England to introduce Hubs!
NW London bosses pretend these Hubs are driven by national policy and instruction, yet only NW London and one other ICB are pushing these proposals. As for national instructions, Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s Primary Care Director has stated that its ‘up to local systems’ what they implement.
The ‘Hubs’ were tested in ten Primary Care Networks in NW London, but there has been no evaluation or any data published on their effectiveness. You can be sure if they had been successful it would have been well publicised!
Downgrading GPs and saving money
It is very much part of Government Strategy to deskill and devalue the role of GPs and by doing so, save money. There is a £1.4 billion pot available for Primary Care, but only to employ Physician Associates and other non doctors, not to employ the staff we most want to see – nurses and GPs.
We now have a bizarre situation around the country, that fully qualified GPs are unable to find locum and full-time posts,or are being made unemployed, with their work being increasingly done by less qualified and much cheaper staff!!
So where are we now?
Unfortunately there has been no agreement reached with the Local Management Committee (GPs). Councillors from various Boroughs have joined the opposition along with some MPs.
NW London NHS bosses are trying to deflect opposition by claiming ‘it’s not a top down process at all’ and claiming it’s up to Primary Care Networks (groups of GP practices) to decide how best to improve access – supposedly in conjunction with patients!
However, you can be sure there will be a big carrot (money) for those PCNs that adopt Hubs, as well as a threat of loss of funding if they don’t. To date there has been no consultation with patients that we are aware of!
John Lister’s latest article on the NW London plans is well worth a read here
Ealing Save Our NHS and other NW London campaigners will continue to campaign against these plans and defend our GP services.
ELECTIVE ORTHOPAEDIC CENTRE – ‘MUCH BETTER THAN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL’
That was the verdict of the Medical Director for North West London’s new Elective Orthopaedic Centre (EOC) at Central Middlesex Hospital, at the formal launch on Monday 13th March, which we attended along with staff, councillors and local MPs. We particularly enjoyed Dawn Butler MP’s “No more NHS Cuts” comment – she’s in the photo above with the scissors!
The Centre aims to see around 4,000 patients a year who need routine bone and joint surgery. It is a result of a collaboration between the four hospital trusts in North West London and is managed by our local trust, London North West.
When you are referred to the Centre your local hospital consultant will ‘follow you’ and do the surgery. All follow up care will be back at home, in the community or at your normal hospital.
It’s had £9 million pounds of investment, recruited over 100 staff and has state-of-the art purpose-built theatres, purely for orthopaedic surgery.
There has also been genuine consultation and involvement of staff and the public, in particular to deal with travel difficulties across North West London. Free patient transport is available for those with either long, expensive or difficult journeys and for those who need medical support or have difficulties walking – pretty unheard of in the NHS.
It shows what the NHS can do when it listens to clinicians, patients and the public, such a contrast to the approach of the NW London bosses over GP Access!
Let’s have more of this innovative and collaborative working – not gimmicks and use of private hospitals as favoured by both the Government and unfortunately Labour too – they don’t work!
This month we met again with London North West NHS Trust Chief Executive, Pippa Nightingale and Mark Titcomb, the Managing Director, for Ealing & Central Middlesex Hospitals for an update on services at Ealing Hospital.
Here are some highlights:-
The Community Diagnostic Centre is on course to open on 24th June. GPs will be able to directly refer patients for diagnostic tests such as CT scans, MRI, Ultrasound and Lung Function, speeding up diagnosis and treatment ( hurray)
A&E waits are still up and made worse by ambulances dropping off patients without triaging them first.
Although there is less capital this year, some long-standing and unseen maintenance issues are to be addressed. The building of a new A&E will need a business case for funding.
Ealing Council’s Local Plan, which includes building flats in front of the hospital on the car park is not supported by the Trust who actually own the land.
Improvements are to be made to signs and direction around the Hospital as they acknowledge they are not good – we agree!
OTHER CAMPAIGNING NEWS:
POSTCARDS TO LOCAL MPs GOING WELL:
Hundreds of postcards have been sent to our local MPs with a very clear message – support the restoration of our NHS, emergency funding to help with the crisis and an end to privatisation. With a general election on the way we need to keep up the pressure.
It is Carnival season soon and we have booked a Stall at Hanwell Carnival on Saturday 15th June which is always a big boost for our campaign. We get to talk to loads of supportive people and hope to get lots of postcards signed too, with a giant postbox for posting them. Our much loved skeleton face-in the-hole photo opportunity will once again be there for the kids.
With an election coming up, the Restore the People’s NHS London conference will be an important opportunity for NHS campaigners, newcomers and all those passionate about ending the NHS crisis and saving it for future generations to come together.
NHS activists, health workers, and respected experts will be speaking about how and why we should be fighting for a full restoration of the founding principles of the NHS.
There will also be workshops about a range of issues including influencing decision makers, building alliances, working with the press, and campaigning on the streets to win over the public.
‘EALING CARELINE’ CLOSES LEAVING VULNERABLE PEOPLE POTENTIALLY AT RISK
Ealing Council’s ‘Careline’, which provided an emergency call button alert service to help vulnerable residents in need has now closed.
At a recent campaign meeting organised by Ealing Reclaim Social Care Action Group and others we heard from Careline users that the ‘replacement service’ provided by Harrow Council is not a like for like service at all and most importantly does not provide a responder service. This could mean some people could receive no help at all if they fell – disgraceful!
Careline was provided to eligible social services clients and at night and weekends to sheltered housing residents. The ‘Campaign for Action in Sheltered Housing’ told the meeting that residents were getting confusing messages and in April only 35 out of a 1000 residents have taken up the new service. Many of them were presented with a list of seven providers, far more expensive than the Council or just not as good.
Up until recently the Council had claimed the changeover was going well and they were working closely with residents, but this is clearly not the case!
Under pressure from campaigners the Council has given some assurances that problems will be addressed, but campaign groups are understandably not convinced. It clearly it will be a worse service for many people or in some cases too expensive to take up, leaving vulnerable people at risk.
Ealing Save Our NHS will continue to support the campaign for a like for like Careline service and safety for all.
GPs are very much in the spotlight at present and sadly not in a good way. Instead of a proper plan with funding to train up new GPs and retain the ones we have, the Government and NHS England are attempting to replace GPs as much as possible with lesser skilled ‘health care professionals’ such as ‘Physician Associates’, with only two years of medical training.
As you will read later health chiefs in NW London have come up with a dreadful new scheme called ‘Same Day Access Hubs’, mostly staffed by non-doctors, which are supposed to replace same day appointments with our GP’s for most urgent care.
On 9th March, Ealing Save Our NHS will be joining campaigners across the country calling for our NHS to be restored and of course that includes proper funding for our GP services.
NEW HUBS WILL THREATEN GP – PATIENT RELATIONSHIP
Doctors, patient groups and campaigners are all up in arms over NW London health bosses’ plans to remove same day emergency care from our GP practices. Instead of seeing your GP, patients will be diverted to a ‘Same Day Access Hub’ mostly staffed by non – doctors. These plans are being introduced without consultation with local GPs, let alone the public.
So how will it work?
If you are feeling very unwell and ring your GP practice for a same day appointment an automated telephone system invites you to press option 1 and you will be transferred to the ‘Same Day Hub’. At the other end of the phone will be a ‘Care Co-ordinator’ (non – clinical),who is part of a team which includes ‘clinicians’ such as Physician Associates (just two years training) and Advanced Nursing Practitioners, and probably only one supervising doctor (also called a ‘clinician’)
The Care Co-ordinator will decide who you should speak to, supposedly with supervision from the GP, but also relying on computerised programmes, a bit like NHS 111 or a Call Centre.
If you are invited in for an appointment you may have to travel to an unfamiliar location to be seen by staff you don’t know and who don’t know your history.
You are only likely to have the option to speak to your GP if you have a “complex long-term condition”.
Only an estimated 7% of appointments will be with the supervising GP, all of the rest will be with other health care professionals / clinicians. Clearly safe supervision in such a situation will be very difficult for the doctor!
The new Hubs were due to be implemented on 1st April but the widespread opposition has forced the ICB to say it will only roll it out from that date – we want it dropped completely.
Management Consultants apparently know better than Doctors!
The NW London ICB would rather talk to management consultants than doctors it seems. Management consultants KPMG and Price Waterhouse Cooper were paid by the ICB to develop a primary care strategy and a ‘more sustainable model of care’ and now KPMG are to be paid to train GPs in setting up hubs – nicework if you can get it. Shame they didn’t work out a plan with GPs instead!
GPs are united in opposing these plans:
The BMA and the National Local Medical Committees, which represents GPs across England, have passed motions opposing the move to Hubs. NW London GP members of the Londonwide LMC have raised serious concerns with NW London ICB (the health bosses) and urged them to delay implementation until proper evaluation has taken place on the limited ‘pilots’. They have also urged the ICB not to impose the plans on GPs.
The LMC believe that patient safety could be at risk if triage is carried out by people without the degree of medical competence needed, as provided by a GP; and where possible with the prior knowledge built up as part of the GP patient relationship. Without these serious, possibly life threatening illness could be missed.
A patient may present with a request for sleeping pills, trouble with piles, or problems with hormone replacement therapy, and we may then have a complex consultation about traumatic bereavement, bowel cancer, or depression. (Dr Helen Salisbury, British Medical Journal, 13 February 2024)
You can read more about the LMC concerns about the new HUBs here
We have the lowest number of GPs per head in London and leaving GPs with only the most complex and time consuming patients is not going to help job satisfaction and retention of GPs, let alone the damage it will do to the GP Patient relationship.
Some great campaigning has been taking place especially by our sister campaign in Hammersmith & Fulham Save Our NHS, who have hit the national press and many local media.
If you can please contact your MP and local councillors – they need to know there is widespread opposition and we want them to actively oppose the plans.
If you are a member of your GP Public Participation Group please ask for it to be discussed and if you can please talk to your GP.
Over the coming months we will do our best to campaign against these plans along with other campaigners across North West London so watch this space..
A PEOPLES NHS – NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION – SATURDAY 9TH MARCH
‘Keep Our NHS Public’ (KONP) has called a Day of Action on the 9th as part of the campaign to restore the ‘Peoples NHS’
As the local branch of KONP we will support the action with a roving stall and our very popular postcards for MPs plus lots of placards and plenty of chanting in Ealing Broadway.
We will be joining campaigners across the country in saying that an NHS free for all, which is publicly owned, provided, and accountable is actually the model that works. It’s not the model that is broken, it’s Governments that have failed the NHS through underfunding and privatisation. WE NEED TO FIGHT TO RESTORE THE NHS!T
PLEASE COME AND JOIN US OUTSIDE EALING TOWN HALL – Starting off at 11.30am outside Ealing Town Hall and the moving on to different locations around the shopping area.
SOME GOOD NEWS FOR EALING HOSPITAL:
In January we met with London North West NHS Trust Chief Executive, Pippa Nightingale and Mark Titcomb, the Managing Director, for Ealing & Central Middlesex Hospitals for an update on services at Ealing Hospital.
Here are some highlights from the meeting:-
Work is well underway on the new Ealing Community Diagnostic Centre, which is due to open in June. Whilst only a few Ultrasound Suites are in operation, once fully open there will be a a wide range of diagnostics including CT, MRI and Ultrasound scans. GPs will be able to make a direct referrals, speeding up detection of serious illnesses such as cancer and improving earlier diagnosis for our more deprived residents.
Winter has of course added to the pressure on staff, but the two extra wards that have been opened have helped. Sadly long waits on trolleys are pretty much a permanent fixture in A&E, as they are in most hospitals.
The recently opened Mental Health Crisis Assessment Centre by West London NHS Trust on the St Bernard’s Site, has helped to reduce the still unacceptably long waits for those patients needing a Mental Health assessment. Frighteningly, Mental Health beds numbers are still being cut in North West London.
In the pipeline there are also plans to extend the our very busy overcrowded A&E space A good job we helped to save it!
EALING COUNCIL TO CLOSE VITAL CARELINE SERVICE FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE
The 24-hour alarm service provided in-house to elderly and vulnerable residents across the Borough looks set to be closed by Ealing Council with 15 people losing their jobs. We were recently alerted to this service cut by Unison, the staff’s union, who say ‘the decision to cease offering an in-house careline service is a disaster waiting to happen.”
Careline is an emergency alarm system for older people and younger people with a chronic sickness or disability and their carers living in the Borough that helps people to live as independently as possible.
Whilst there will be ‘some’ outsourcing to other agencies it is very unlikely they will be able to handle the 124,000 alarm calls and incidents over the past year.
Its all being rushed through with virtually no consultation with service users and is likely to impact on the NHS.
A good story in Ealing News with a quote from ushere
SHOCKING STATE OF DENTISTRY – PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION
Every week there are more stories on the shocking state of Dentistry, but none so vivid as the pictures of people in Bristol queuing all night to register for a new dental practice! The Government has recently announced a ‘Recovery Plan’ – so does it live up to its name?
The British Dental Association says the Government’s so-called Recovery Plan is incapable of even beginning to honour Rishi Sunak’s promise to ‘restore’ NHS dentistry or in any way to meet the Government’s stated ambition to provide access to NHS dentistry for ‘all who need it’.
The Plan sets up a ‘new patient premium’, which will give a bonus to dentists who see a patient that hasn’t undergone treatment in two years – £15 to first see them, £50 if they need significant work done. It also raises the minimum Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) value from the current level of £25.33 to £28. The BDA says this is simply nowhere near enough.
The £200 million pledged is not really ‘new’ money and is less than half the underspend expected in this years budget. It will do little to stem the flood of dentists stopping NHS work.
The BDA have launched a Petition to save NHS dentistry with 38 Degrees and the Mirror.
And a big thanks to everyone who has supported us over the year
It has been a a busy year and thanks to our dedicated group of supporters we have maintained our highly successful Street Stalls around the Borough. We have also had some very lively protests, including our celebrations of the 75th NHS Birthday in July, where we collected over 100 fantastic message of support for NHS staff.
Our colourful leaflets and posters, and more recently our very popular postcards to MPs, have focused on the need for urgent funding now, ending privatisation, which is undermining our NHS and the need for decent pay, conditions and respect for our hard working NHS staff.
We end our campaigning year with yet another successful Stall in Greenford – thanks to the public for their continued support.
PATIENT TRUST AT RISK AS PALANTIR WINS CONTRACT – LEGAL ACTION LAUNCHED
US spy tech company ‘Palantir’ has been awarded a £330 million contract to run the new NHS Federated Data Platform, despite concerns over the firm’s suitability for handling sensitive health records. NHS England has rejected data privacy campaigners’ calls to allow patients to opt out of having their health data shared. It claims this is not necessary because patients’ data will be anonymised and the platform will be used for “direct care” only. Cori Crider, the director of tech justice group ‘Foxglove’, said the lack of an opt out “puts [the] government on a crash course with people’s expectation that they, not officials, should decide what’s done with their health data.” Dr David Nicholl, spokesperson for the ‘Doctors’ Association UK’ (DAUK), said that “basic issues of informed consent are being ignored, and this deal could lead to a loss of privacy and seriously erode patient trust”. Foxglove, Doctors Association UK and others have launched a legal challenge and have sent legal letters to the government seeking commitments about the safeguarding of patient data and complying with the law. They could well be back in court again – WATCH THIS SPACE
SUPPORT THE COVID BEREAVED FAMILIES – THEIR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE CONTINUES:
In February 2021 ‘Keep Our NHS Public’, our national organisation launched the ‘Peoples Covid Inquiry’ which collected a wide range of shocking evidence of Government misconduct.
Despite everything we heard at the time the official Covid Inquiry has been even more shocking! Top of the list must be the hideous comments from ‘let the bodies pile high’ Boris Johnson’ who along with other Government Ministers saw mounting deaths of older people as acceptable as they ‘had their innings’ – unbelievable. No wonder his ’apology’ caused so much outrage among the bereaved families.
None of the leading politicians have been willing to take any blame for the 233,554 deaths , the second worst in Europe. And Rishi Sunak, or as the Chief Medical Officer calls him, ‘Dr Death’ due to his Eat Out to Help Out (the Virus) policy said 24 times that he couldn’t recall details – not very impressive for a Prime Minister! ‘Covid Bereaved Families for Justice’have been determined to get answers so that lessons can be learned and lives saved in the future. Many of them have spent thousands of pounds travelling to the Inquiry every day to make sure their presence is felt. THEY REALLY NEED OUR SUPPORT
If you can donate to help the families continue in their fight for the facts, truth and justice please donate here –
JUNIOR DOCTORS TO STRIKE AGAIN AS TALKS FAIL TO PRODUCE A CREDIBLE PAY OFFER:
The BMA is to take further strike action after talks with the Government ended without ‘a credible offer on pay’ despite ‘more constructive’ talks. Strikes are set to take place from 7.00 am on the 20 December to 7.00 am on 23 December 2023 and from 7.00 am on the 3 January to 7.00 am on 9 January 2024. The BMA Junior Doctors Committee said – “It is a great shame that even though the approach was more constructive, there was not enough on offer to shape a credible deal, which we hoped would end the dispute. Without enough progress by the deadline, we have no choice but to take action that demonstrates doctors are as determined as ever in reversing their pay cuts. Clearly neither patients nor doctors want to see any more strike action – but the Government has refused to talk to to the BMA until very recently and should have come up with a credible offer to settle the dispute and stop Junior doctors from leaving the NHS.
DOES THE NHS HAVE ENOUGH MONEY?
It has become popular these days for politicians to say that the NHS has enough money, it just needs to spend it differently, reorganise, reprioritise and stop waste.
Unfortunately this view, which had driven years of Tory austerity and funding cuts now seems to have been adopted by Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary. He said in a recent interview in the Sunday Times: “It’s not good enough that the NHS uses every winter crisis and every challenge it faces as an excuse to ask for more money.”
No surprise that this statement has been seen as a real kick in the teeth to struggling NHS workers, especially in the A&Es and ambulance services.
More on the interview with Wes Streeting and the staff responsehere
SO WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
The UK currently spends £3055 per person on the NHS, 18% less than the EU average of £3655. We have fewer doctors per head, 3 per 1000 compared with the EU average of 3.7 and fewer nurses per head with only 8.7 compared to the EU average of 9.9 – so not awash with money.
In January 2023 the Government promised the NHS there would be 5000 extra beds and over 800 ambulances this winter, in the Autumn Budget the NHS got nothing. 51 new ambulances have been planned but the bed situation has got worse with 2,675 fewer bedsWith nearly one in nine 152,115 patients already waiting 12-hours or more from their time of arrival at A&E – the need for more funding couldn’t be clearer.
Campaigners like us certainly have our work cut out to get politicians of all parties to understand that without proper funding and support for NHS staff the situation will only get worse. With a general election coming up, our postcards to local MPs are certainly going out at the right time!
COMING UP IN THE NEW YEAR: ESON AGM & Campaign Meeting – Tuesday 16th January 2024 in Northfields Community Centre -help us to plan our next steps in campaigning up to the General Election and beyond – ALL WELCOME Keep Our NHS Public National Day of Action – February 2024 – Watch this space for more details
If you would like to get involved in our campaign and / or receive more regular updates please email us at info@ealingsaveournhs.org.uk
Wishing you all a very Happy Xmas and a Happy New Year Best Regards Eve Turner Secretary, Ealing Save Our NHS
