...remember, remember, dates for November!

Wednesday 7th November, 7.30pm, Save Our Local Hospitals (SOLH) meeting to respond to Kershaw's proposals, Charlton House, Charlton Road, SE7 8RE. 

Read News Shopper story here 
Thursday 8th November, 6pm, Save Lewisham Hospital Public Meeting, Lessoff Auditorium, Lewisham Hospital, SE13 6LH. More stories from Lewisham here

http://www.savelewishamhospital.com/

Sign the petition here 

Monday 12th November 6pm, Lobby of Full Council Meeting, outside Council Meeting Rooms, Civic Centre, Bromley. Part of campaign to stop Tory Council attempting to rip up National Pay & Conditions Staff contracts & agreements.
Wednesday 14th November, #14N European Strike

Thursday 22nd November, 6-7.30pm, Bromley TUC AGM, HG Wells, St MarKs Road, Bromley South. All Bromley trade unionists very welcome.

The Future of Queen Mary's Sidcup - public meetings with a panel of experts from local health & social care groups to discuss proposed changes: 
Monday 19th November, 2pm-4pm, Baptist Church, Queen Street, Erith. 
Wednesday 21st November 7pm-9pm, Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Bexleyheath. 
Friday 23rd November 10am-12pm, Sidcup Sports Club, Crescent Farm, Sydney Road, Main Road, Sidcup.

Saturday 24th November 2pm, proposed march, rally and 'hands around the hospital' Lewisham.  Assemble Loampit Vale Roundabout.
Lewisham Keep Our NHS Public here 

Please come along, get involved and have your say.

Beckenham Beacon to close under re-organisation plans

Penge and Cator Labour Councillor John Getgood writes on Bromley's and Lewisham's healthcare crisis - 

...We cannot afford to lose one of these first class facilities, yet alone both...

Read more in November's entries on Penge and Cator Councillors' blog here http://www.pengeandcatorcouncillors.co.uk/  

and don't forget to join our Facebook page!

Bromley Cuts Concern - Fighting Against the Cuts.

Lobby of Bromley Council

This post is a reminder of the lobby of Bromley Council tonight, Tuesday October 23rd (see previous post), planned to begin at 6pm for a 7pm start at Bromley Civic Centre.  

A trade union branch secretary representing Bromley's local government workers writes -

"...Chief Executive (Bromley Council) is holding road shows where he is announcing that the Council intends to go from a providing authority to a commissioning one. In other words whole sale privatisation." 

October's local anti-austerity drives have started!

Tuesday October 9 - Save Our Local Hospitals organising meeting 7.30pm - Sidcup Labour Offices  Sidcup Hill Sidcup (just at the end of the High Street towards Foots Cray.) A small group has volunteered to be an organising committee for 38 Degrees campaign (see previous post) in Bromley.

Wednesday October 10 -Greenwich and Bexley Trades Council anti-austerity public meeting 7.30pm - Charlton House.

Thursday October 11, Was Marx right? Is there an alternative to capitalism?
South London Workers' Liberty meeting, 7pm - New Cross Learning Centre (New Cross Library), 283-285 New Cross Road (next to Iceland) http://www.facebook.com/events/423464944381273/?fref=ts

Also Thursday October 11 - Bromley Cuts Concern meeting HG Wells Centre, 7.30pm

Lewisham Keep Our NHS Public website here with more anti-cuts activities and dates
http://www.lewishamkonp.org/

Lobby of Bromley Council
Glenn Kelly, Bromley Council's Staff Side Secretary writes on the local authority's consultation concerning withdrawal from National Terms and Conditions

Dear Staff member
The council are now going to consider the outcome of the consultation and
decide if they wish to take this matter any further at a meeting on 23rd
October.

It is vital that as many staff as possible attend this public meeting to ensue/that
we let them now what we feel about this issue. I would ask all staff to join the
lobby of that meeting and then to go in to listen to the debate.

Lobby of the Council
6pm,  23rd October
Civic centre
Bromley

Put the date in your diary

38 Degrees get togethers

Leading 'Useful links' on the right of this website since day one, 38 Degrees now introduce a further initiative to save local NHS services - get togethers in the area

Here are details of two local meet-ups already organized by supporters.

Bromley, Saturday, October 6th 
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/event/detail/nhscampaignlocalgettogether/wrst

Greenwich, Monday, October 15th 
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/event/detail/nhscampaignlocalgettogether/wrsv

NHS links - fightback has begun

An anonymous comment, the fightback has BEGUN!, added to a recent post on this blog, was the feeling expressed last night at a public meeting organized jointly by Bromley Cuts Concern's community campaigners and a reinvigorated Bromley TUC. 

 (Left to right) John MCDonnell MP; Gill George; Mick Carney (chair); Chris Baugh; Glenn Kelly.

The work of two doctors, John Lister and Olive Peedell, not reported in mainstream media, was brought to the attention of invited speakers and gathered supporters. 

 


Dr. John Lister, in a short YouTube clip from March 2012, is Director of Health Emergency

Some doctors are taking a direct approach [...] Clive Peedell, a consultant oncologist who in January ran six marathons in six days in opposition to the Bill – an extraordinary story that nevertheless gained minimal media coverage [...]

(How to reclaim our NHS from NHS Support Federation website)

Links to recent NHS anti-cuts stories in and around London here, here and here  

public meetings and open petitions

A Bromley borough resident concerned about cuts and privatisation writes -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2206107/STOP-THE-CASUALTY-CLOSURES.html

This is the Mail on Sunday A&E petition webpage. The Mail is very influential among politicians, and reaches many people who are not aware of what is going on.  If they believe many people are interested, they will cover the NHS privatisation story more and better:

FaceBook users may have seen a page forwarded by a supporter with an invitation to sign and share. It's to ask for Freedom of Information about private sector organisations

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38851

 There is a joint shadow SE London Commissioning Boards (Clinical Commissioning Groups) Meeting this coming Thursday (27th Sept) at Coin St Neighbourhood Centre, Stamford St, SE 1 9NH

CRISIS IN SOUTH LONDON HEALTH TRUST & CUTS TO PUBLIC SERVICES

Here is reminder of Bromley Cuts Concern and Bromley TUC's own joint public meeting tonight

ALL WELCOME

Invited speakers and guests

Gill George, Local NHS worker & Unite trade unionist 

Glenn Kelly, Staff Side Secretary, Bromley Council
Chris Baugh, Assistant General Secretary, PCS

John McDonnell MP, Chair of Labour's Representation Committee (LRC)

Chair: Mick Carney, Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA)

Musical entertainment from Strawberry Thieves Choir

Monday, September 24th, 7pm

HG Wells Centre

St Marks Road

Nr. Bromley South Station.

350-strong March from Woolwich to Save the NHS

Lynne Windeatt  of Greenwich & Bexley Trades Union Council writes: 

The Save Our Local Hospitals campaign was launched last Saturday September 15th with a 350-strong march from Woolwich town centre to Charlton comprising of local trade unionists - PCS, GMB, UCU, RMT, NUT, Unite and Unison, health campaigners from "Keep Our NHS Public" and "We Love the NHS", the local Labour Party, Greenwich & Bexley Trades Union Council, the Bromley pensioners group  and members of residents associations.

Speakers included Eltham Labour MP Clive Efford, Candy Udwin from "Keep Our NHS Public" and Andy Prendergast, a local GMB Official, all demanding that the government back down from any privatisation and/or closure plans for the three hospitals under threat - Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich, Queen Mary in Sidcup and Princess Royal in Bromley.

The march was loud and lively with constant chants to save the NHS.  The day was summed up by a local young female health worker at the Charlton Park rally who pledged that "we are not going to take this lying down".

The government’s plans to privatise and fragment our NHS are taking shape in South London including Bromley areas Lewisham West and Penge. Local doctors are forming a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in the locality. Add your name at 38 Degrees petition to your local doctors here  

a future that works - spread the word!