Yes, that's the plan, but we can still stop it - if enough of you get their bums off the sofa!Ealing and Hammersmith Councils are refusing to sign the long term plan (STP) for NW London that only has one aim - reduce spending further. It was shocking to hear that Britain has the lowest GDP spending for health in Europe currently at 7.8% (hope remember this right, around this mark anyway), but they are trying to reduce this further to just over 6% - that's with an ageing population that needs more and more hospital care... Madness!No doubt, central government has to pay extra for social care - it is a national and not a local issue that our population is getting older, with money raised through income tax rather than council tax. Currently, they - through NHS England - are trying to hold local councils at ransom - if you sign up to our mad plans, you are possibly getting a little extra (sum not disclosed), but it's guaranteed not to work because it will never be enough for all the extra care that is expected from councils...Is there anything you can do? Yes, you can tell your GP to refuse to sign up to any deals the local CCG wants them to sign - the more GPs refuse to sign, the less power NHS England has...And you can also join the big national demo (it is not just Ealing though we are extremely badly hit) - 4th March. If you want to be part of the Ealing lot, you meet at EB station at 11 am. Otherwise, it's Tavistock Square at noon for a march to Parliament. It's gonna be big if you get your bum off the sofa ;)Yes, you are reading this and agree something needs to get done - it doesn't happen until YOU get active and join us - children and all! After all, it's their future!
Urs Esser ● 3359d