Whittington Hospital
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This is the text of the leaflet being handed out at a March in North London today (16th) against the proposed cuts/changes at London’s Whittington hospital.
Members of North London Branch will be meeting at Holloway Road Tube (Piccadilly line) at 11:30.
Save the Whittington (again)
In one of their leaflets the managers of Whittington Hospital disclose the real driver behind their plans:
“All hospitals are obliged to become Foundation Trusts or risk acquisition by other Foundation Trusts – our investment plans are a major part of our effort to become a Foundation Trust.”
This is the reality, and why the hospital is threatened (again), and will be (again) even if the campaign succeeds. Hospitals, forced to behave like businesses rather than providing a needs-based service, must start looking at the value of their estate as a priority.
The position of the Socialist Party is clear: we will not campaign for election based on supporting any given set of reforms; but we do support the struggle of workers to defend their living standards and services (indeed, Unite The Union is at the forefront of the Whittington Campaign). We will not seek to take over the campaign like so many other organisations do.
It’s too easy for a Councillor or an MP to campaign to Save our Hospital/School/Fire Station, because they can’t lose. If the campaign succeeds it was because of them, if it fails it was despite their valiant efforts.
If elected to the council, our delegate will vote, as instructed, in the interests of the workers, but we won’t kid on that we can save services within the profit-driven market system where profits always come before people. That is the real issue behind the repeated campaigns to “Save the Whittington”. As government funds are squeezed by falling commercial profits (and thus a reduced tax take) they seek to cut or commercialise the costs of health care.
Our election platform is to fight for the common ownership of the wealth of the world so that our health and other needs can be met directly without commercial consideration.
The Socialist candidate in the Junction ward by-election on 21 March is Bill Martin.
Thanks!
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