Workers' Liberty

The chair of the Government's official medical drugs-regulating body, has said that “the drugs are so expensive” because of the pharmaceutical companies’ drive for profits.

Dear comrades,

I am an activist in the IWW union, writing on behalf of the Save Our National Blood Service campaign of which the IWW is a part to ask if you or people you know could help with a demonstration the Watford Blood Service HQ on Friday the 11th of April. The proposed cuts to the Blood Service will close labs all over the country to consolidate them into just 3 ‘supercentres’. This is a small part of the current attack on the NHS, but just as dangerous as any other. As well as 600 job losses, all of us that use the NHS will be put in danger by this irrational move - which has been roundly condemned by medical experts and health workers alike.

The recent survey of all the existing evidence for the effectiveness of the anti-depressants of the type made famous by Prozac has demonstrated how easily drug companies can get away with cherry picking studies that highlight the effectiveness of their drugs whilst hiding any negative results.

The survey revealed that none of these drugs had an effect better than a placebo in any but the most depressed patients.

Recent reports in the press about Ambulance Trusts sending single handed response cars to emergency calls instead of ambulances came as no surprise to those working in the service.

Two events over the next few weeks could put new impetus into the campaign to defend the NHS.

Firstly the release of the film Sicko, by US documentary filmmaker Michael Moore will help

Next year is the 60th anniversary of the foundation on the NHS. Two generations of British peoples’ lives have been affected by the NHS in one way or another — as health workers, patients or carers. It’s difficult to imagine a time in the past without it, or a future with it gone.

The 23 October edition of the Daily Mail featured a rant by the odious High Tory Max Hastings, the boldface of the title screaming “How much longer will we put up with the Scots spending so much of our money?”

Healthcare has become a hot political subject in the US, and even more so since Michael Moore’s film Sicko went on general release. It is now due to be shown in cinemas around the UK from 26 October.

Talk about the NHS “reform agenda” and you end up knee deep in a flood of acronyms and abbreviations. Below we try to define what some of them mean. Our definitions are hopefully more to the point than DoH (Department of Health) circulars which prefer to hide the detail of what’s going on by using a private language of “modernisation’

The 3 November demonstration in defence of the NHS will be the focus for the growing tide of anger at government attacks on the health service.

By Sofie Buckland

Sunday 1 July saw the introduction of the controversial “smoking ban”, outlawing smoking in “enclosed public spaces” (train station platforms as well as buildings, for example) and workplaces. As a smoker it’s a little irritating to no longer be able to enjoy a smoke with a pint, but there’s little justification socialists can give for not supporting a ban — passive smoking is really quite obviously harmful, whatever the tobacco company sponsored research might say, and workers shouldn’t be subject to it on the job.

By Frank Higgins

Where did Coca Cola get its name from? Earlier this century, the “soft” drink included an element of cocaine. In the last century you could buy over the counter a drink called laudanum, which contained opium. Tighter state control of drug distribution and consumption put a stop to such things. Even potent but harmless marijuana was outlawed

Healthworkers in UNISON have produced these leaflets to build a campaign rejecting the latest offer from the Government over NHS pay - the new deal is still worth less than inflation, still less than

Thousands of blood service workers rallied across the UK on June 15th to protest against a multi-million pound cut in the service. The planned cuts will mean the loss of 800 jobs and the closure of nine out of the twelve regional blood centres serving England and north Wales over the next two years.

By Mike Fenwick

After the fuss made last year about an “overspend” in the NHS budget, the trend has been reversed.

Supporters of Solidarity in the health service group of UNISON have produced this leaflet to promote four candidates in the current round of elections to the National Executive Committee: Kate Ahrens, Alison Brown, Paul Harper and Len Hockey are standing for the four health seats on the NEC.

By Mike Fenwick

At Unison health conference in Brighton on 22-24 April, the main decision was to reject the 2.5% pay settlement and go for industrial action.

By Mike Fenwick

Healthworkers from around the country gather in Brighton on 22-24 April for Unison’s Annual Health Conference. After another turbulent year in the NHS it seems likely that the mood will be angry, but the key question remains, how can that anger be turned into action.

Nurses in Ireland are taking industrial action over pay and working hours. 40,000 members of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association, seeking a 10.6% pay rise alongside a 4-hour cut in their 39-hour working week, are in the third week of working-to-rule, refusing to do clerical or IT work.

The local acute hospital Trust (UHL) is planning to cut 200 beds over the next two years. Activists from UNISON, AMICUS and RCN started the financial year with a protest outside one of the three hospitals affected (Glenfield General Hospital).

Saturday 3 March saw the first nationally coordinated day of action in defence of the NHS for nearly twenty years, organised by the TUC led NHS Together group of unions and professional organisations.

By Rachel Harris

Next year sees the 60th anniversary of the creation of the NHS. It was the first time anywhere in the world that completely free healthcare was made available on the basis of equal citizenship rather than wealth.

Apparently, private pharmaceutical companies have been ripping off the NHS by over-charging for drugs. No, really. Apparently, they are too keen to make profit. Fancy that, a private company making profits. You’d almost think that’s what they are supposed to do.

By Mike Fenwick, Leeds Unison health

Saturday March 3rd sees the first nationally coordinated day of trade union action in defense of the NHS. Events ranging from lobbies of MPs to rallies and marches and, for the more adventurous, an ascent of Skiddaw in the Lake District aim to highlight the crisis in the health service.

Blood Service
Members of Amicus working in the National Blood Service used Valentine’s day as a platform to draw attention to the threatened closure of local centres. There is a plan to move all blood processing and testing to three large centres in London, Bristol and Manchester. Centralising production raises the risk of deaths if there were to be any delays in its delivery.