"ent may wipe the smile off Fowler's face! ACTION BRENT Area Health Authority voted this week to continue to defy the government over the demand for health cuts totalling North-West Thames Regional Health Authorify is also demanding 110 redundancies and that 216 vacant posts remain untilled. decided to continue to defy the demand for cuts, despite a letter from North-West Thames threatening the Brent authority with the sack.
Brent is one of at least seven health authorities refusing to implement the cuts. Others include ington. •Sheffield. Padington.
Northumberland Stockport.
On the same day as Brent's decision the High Court upheld the right of regional health authorities henioer on borough authorities.
There SECUN likelihood that the governcul wul dow mave Locu sure the sacking. of the rebels.
At last week's Tor Socia Services secretary Norman Fowler reasserted That cher's line that there was no intention to destroy the health service.
But the truth is that Fowler is using a number of mechanisms to seriously undermine structure and functioning of health service care. The govern£250,000 per year.
The Brent authority ment is asking for a one cut in money spent on the health service For a 0.5 per çent decrease in real growth in the health service.
Reality This sounds a trifling amount, but the figures hide the reality. Even the Tories accept that in order to stand still, the health service needs a 1.2 per cent per yea real growth target. With arcule population, the demands of new technology anything less will result in marked steady deterioration of health care.
Even assuming a higher growth rate: than that proposed by the government, health provision would remain appalling. The total waiting list is now 719,000 — a dreadful total of human misery, wilich of course the rich can avoid through private health care. Junior hospital doctors work at average of hours WCCK the pay many in the health service remains extrémely low.
Insult To add insult to injury Fowler is now forcing health authorities privatise virtually every non-medical aspect of the health service - an action which will cause massive upheaval in the health service, result in thousands of redundancies of council services make. things will eventually make more expensive The defence of the health service cannot be left to health authority members alone. If they are tory onslaught, it means a successfully defy 'the huge movement campaign support them, including industrial action the healthworkers.
Neil Kinnock's call for defy the cuts welcome opportunity to take the defence of the health service through the length and breadth of the move licil If l get one more joker ringing they're Cecil Parkinson I'm going to scream!!!
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