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N E W S

a whole. The whole agenda isvery cost driven, and everydecision that seems to be madeis a financial one, rather thanone that’s got patient care at theend of it.”

Shortly after coming to powerin May 2010, the coalitiongovernment gave an assurancethat its cuts agenda would notaffect frontline services. And inApril this year the governmentlaunched a “listening exercise”to address concerns about thescale of its NHS reforms.

Launching the initiative,prime minister David Cameronsaid the government wanted to“safeguard the NHS for futuregenerations”, but added that itwas only through“modernisation that we canprotect the NHS and ensure thecountry has a truly world-classhealth service”.

Care compromisedMonths after the listening

exercise, however, the BritishMedical Association (BMA),which represents around141,000 doctors and medicalstudents in the UK, called forthe Health and Social Care Billto be “withdrawn or at the veryleast significantly amended”,calling it deeply flawed.

One long-serving nurse at ahospital in south London, MikeDavey, said he feared thestandard of patient care will beseverely compromised by thechanges.

“A lot of staff are veryconcerned. It’s having a negativeimpact on morale,” he said.

“The last chance to save theNHS” is how it has been billed.This Sunday thousands fromacross the country are expectedto descend on London to launcha headline-grabbingdemonstration against thecoalition government’sproposed healthcare reforms.

Led by the anti-austeritygroup UK Uncut, the protestersplan to temporarily close downthe iconic Westminster Bridgejust days before a crucial finalvote on the controversial Healthand Social Care Bill is cast inthe House of Lords. If the bill ispassed, campaigners say, it willopen the NHS up to corporateinterests, damage the standardof service and lead to thedestruction of an equal anduniversal healthcare system.

‘Dangerous level’But in the build-up to thedemonstration, an investigation

by The Big Issue in the North

has discovered frontline NHSstaff across England are alreadyenduring cutbacks that could beputting patient care at risk, withsome operations being delayeddue to tight budgets.

Dr Stephen Smith* said at onehospital in the South Weststaffing was at a “dangerouslevel” after the ratio of nurses topatients in each ward had beenreduced.

“There is a climate of fear anda feeling that everyone’s budgetsare under heavy attack,” he said.“Working in A&E, for example,there are signs up saying ‘howcan we save money?’ with

people asked to givesuggestions. But the amounthaving to be saved each month

is just crazy, and consequentlyrotas are being designed withfewer doctors in them becauseit’s cheaper. Which clearly putspatients at risk.”

Smith believed the Health andSocial Care Bill would sendthings in a “very bad direction”.

“There isn’t anybody I knowin the medical profession whothinks it’s a good idea,” headded. “Everyone has said thatthis is going to destroy the NHSand is just an attempt at

backdoor privatisation. The onlypeople who are pro it are theGPs who are going to makemoney out of it.”

Jacqui Moore*, a specialistpractitioner who is also a unionrepresentative at a hospital in

the North West, describedincreased levels of stress due tojob cuts.

Cuts agenda“I see a lot of staff going off withstress at the moment,” she said.“The minute you start cuttingstaff everybody else is expectedto work harder and a lot of staff react to that. Just about everyperson I deal with seems to haveeither been off with stress or hasjust come back after a period of stress-related illness. Everybodyis feeling the pressure.

“It’s symptomatic of what’sgoing on in the health service as

Frontline NHS staff forced into

NHS staff and MPs claim operations are being rationed

THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE BILL – WHAT IT WILL MEAN

The Health and Social Care Bill wasintroduced into parliament on19 January 2011. It was approvedby the House of Commons on7 September and is currently at thedebate stage in the House of Lords.

Key measures contained in thebill include proposals to:• Abolish primary care trusts (PCTs),

which manage the purchasing ofcare services in a specific area,

and replace them with consortiaof GPs. The consortia will havecontrol of an £80 billion budgetfor the treatment of patients.

• Establish a new organisationcalled HealthWatch England,which will be tasked withpromoting greater democracy andaccountability in the NHS. It willhave the power to proposeinvestigations into poor servicesand ensure that feedback from

patients is taken into account.• Turn all hospitals in England into

semi-independent foundationtrusts by 2014. This will allowhospitals to earn money bytreating private patients and placethem in direct competition withone another for patients. It wasTony Blair who originallyintroduced this concept in 2003.Around half of all hospitals inEngland already have this status.

The British Medical Associationsays its three main concernsabout the bill are that it:• Is centred on a misguided reliance

on market forces.• Will have unintended knock-on

impacts with longer-termconsequences such as the impacton public health and medicaleducation and training.

• Will lead to over-complexity andgreater bureaucracy.

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GOT A STORY? CONTACT 0161 831 5563 OR EMAIL NEWS@BIGISSUENORTH.CO.UK

HARVESTING SUPPORTA Leeds-based marketing companyis doing its bit to help raise fundsfor St George’s Crypt. With a 17 percent increase in homelessness thisyear and budget cuts approaching,the homelessness charity isthreatened, but to celebrate theHarvest Festival C2 is holding a foodfete, including demonstrations,tastings and mini masterclasses, atLeeds’ Harvey Nichols, 12 Oct, to

raise money for the charity.

HOUSING GUINEA PIGSThe FirstBuy scheme, introducedby the government in July, hasmade its first sale in the north.Gavin and Leanne Nicholsonbought their house in AllertonBywater near Leeds through thescheme, which gives first-timebuyers the chance to get a houseat 80 per cent of its market valuewith a 5 per cent deposit. TheHomes and Community Agencyand the housebuilder make up

the discrepancy.

SCHOOL REBUILDLiverpool locals are asked to havetheir say over proposals to rebuild aschool similar to a modern airportterminal. The Notre Dame CatholicCollege is one of three schools toreceive the potential rebuild usingthe scheme EdVenture. Thebuildings are said to provide moreflexibility as internal layout is opento change and building costs arecheaper. See www.liverpool.gov.uk/consultation or email views tobsf@liverpool.gov.uk

NATIONAL PARKSA councillor in Cumbria says hewill fight tooth and nail againstproposals to extend theboundaries of the Yorkshire DalesNational Park and the LakeDistrict National Park. Cllr TimKnowles believes the extensionwill make housing even lessaffordable for local people andrisks undermining key nationalinfrastructure projects for thecountry. All Cumbrian localauthorities oppose the plan.

o cuts ahead of key vote

Ken Loach inspires film competition

NEWS IN BRIEF

asking Oldham’s primary caretrust for clear answers aboutwhy this and other basicoperations are being hit so hard

by this government’sideologically-driven cuts.”

On 12 October the Health andSocial Care Bill will be put to afinal vote in the House of Lords.The Lords have promised toscrutinise the bill in “vastdetail”, with some LiberalDemocrat peers, led by BaronessShirley Williams, expected torebel against it. Writing for theObserver in September,Williams said that she had“huge concerns”, adding: “The

battle is far from over.”For Ben Jackson, a spokesman

for UK Uncut, this Sunday’sprotest will be crucial.

“It all depends on what they[the Lords] hear from thepublic,” he said. “So we need totake drastic action to make itclear that this isn’t going to besomething we’re just going to lie

down and take. It’s anemergency for the NHS.”

* Names have been changed

RYAN GALLAGHER

“The government is putting thethumbscrews on to themanagers, the executives andthe trust boards so they have topretty much market testeverything – which means

services being privatised out.“We’re told a privatecompany can do things cheaperand better than our own in-house services. But previousexperience, since the Thatcher

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

A Department of Healthspokesperson said: “Our revisedplans both safeguard the future ofour NHS, and ensure it is moreefficient and more accountable.The fundamentals of our plans –more control for patients, morepower to doctors and nurses, andless bureaucracy in the NHS – are asstrong today as they have ever

been.“Because we believe

passionately in the NHS, fundingwill increase by £12.5 billion overthe next four years – a sign of ourcommitment to protecting it for thefuture, so there is no excuse to cutback on services that patientsneed.”

government in the 1980s brought in mass privatisation,has led us to see that this is notactually the case.”

At an Oldham hospital, someoperations may have already

been rationed due to budgetshortages. According to Oldhamand Saddleworth MP DebbieAbrahams, a 33-year-old man inher constituency had anoperation to fix his cataractsdelayed because his sight wasclassed as “impaired” asopposed to “blind”. The man,an engineer by trade, cannotwork due to his condition andwill have to wait until his visionworsens before he can undergoimmediate surgery.

Ideology“Delays to simple and relativelyinexpensive operations, likethose for cataracts, can severelyaffect a person’s life,” Abrahamssaid. “I am very concernedabout this situation as I have

had several constituents come tome asking for help because theycannot get their cataracts treatedin a reasonable time. Along withMichael Meacher and otherGreater Manchester MPs I am

Young people have the chanceto celebrate radical film makerKen Loach’s 75th birthday bysubmitting a film or writtenpiece inspired by his work.

The competition, Between theLines Filmmaking Challenge, isorganised by the British FilmInstitute, First Light, Film Cluband Film Education.

Loach has directed a numberof classics including Kes andCathy Come Home as well aspolitical dramas such as TheWind That Shakes The Barley and Land And Freedom .

First Light helps young

people develop skills in mediaproduction and works witharound 5,000 five-to-25 yearolds each year.

First Light’s Paul Hewlett, oneof the judges, said he waslooking for “alternative storiesand characters that confrontmainstream ideologies and kickat the heels of theestablishment”.

He added: “By organising thecompetition we hope to widenKen Loach’s appeal amongst thenext generation of film makersand writers.”

Yet with most multiplexes

unlikely to show radical films,wouldn’t guiding a youngperson into making such work

be wasting their talents?Hewlett believes not and said

TV and arthouse cinema offeredalternative ways to watch newand radical films.

“Brave, honest and excitingfilmmakers who know how toentertain an audience and tellstories that need to be told willalways have a future,” he said.

See www.firstlightonline.co.uk

MARK METCALF

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