Scroll down this page for our current Campaigns and events:
1: Protect the NHS – Scrap the Health and Care Bill: Online Rally, Wednesday 8th September 2021
2: Protest the Tory Party Conference: Sunday 3rd October 2021
3: Log on for the next KONPNE meeting – all welcome; Thursday 7th October 2021
4: Campaign against privatisation in North Tyneside Primary Care
5: We strongly oppose the “Health and Care Bill 2021” and “Integrated Care System” – find out why, and take action
6: 5 Million Waiting – sign the “We Own It” petition re the NHS waiting list
7: The NHS Data Grab – find out more
8: Defend the right to protest – The Police and Crime Bill 2021
9: Our NHS staff deserve better – the “pay rise” is not good enough.
10: Stand up for migrants – hospitals should not be a hostile environment
11: Centene Corporation takes over more GP practices
12: Fund the NHS, not the private sector – sign the KONP petition
13: Prescriptions charges – sign the 38 degrees petition, plus update
14: Access information about the NHS Campaign
15: Link to NHS Campaigning organisations – much going on…
16: Watch incisive films about the NHS
17: Follow decision-making in local Councils
18: Keep in touch with KONP North East
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WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT – your involvement in the following current Campaigns and events is welcomed
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1:
Protect the NHS – Scrap the Health and Care Bill:Online Rally, Wednesday 8th September 2021 @7pm
New NHS legislation is changing healthcare in Britain, making it less accessible, less accountable, and less safe for staff and patients.
The Health and Care Bill makes the NHS more vulnerable to privatisation than ever, with increased involvement in decision making by private companies, putting profit before patients. Our NHS is already struggling after years of austerity, privatisation, understaffing, low-pay and the fall-out from fighting on the front line of the COVID pandemic. This dangerous bill is more of the same. Don’t let it destroy our NHS.
Speakers Include:
Michael Rosen, Writer Dr Tony O’Sullivan (KONP) Alia Butt (NHS Staff Voices) Steve Cowan, Council Leader Cat Hobbs, Director of We Own It Holly Turner (NHS Workers Say No) Dr David Wrigley (BMA) Dr Sonia Adesara (KONP) John Lister, Health Campaigns Together & The Lowdown
Protest the Tory Party Conference: Sunday 3rd October 2021
Newcastle coach to protest Tory Party Conference in Manchester – organised by North East Peoples Assembly
The Tories are back in Manchester and so we will be there to protest them every step of the way. There will be a national demonstration and march on Sunday 3rd October and Manchester’s venues will be alive with counter politics over the rest of their conference weekend.
Join our coach from Newcastle, leaving from outside central station 8am. North East People’s Assembly is a broad and non-party political anti-austerity coalition, established in 2013. If you’re against austerity you’re with us!
“KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC NORTH EAST” MEETING: Thursday 7th October 2021 @7pm
THIS AUTUMN, BE ACTIVE IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST NHS PRIVATISATION – Join us at the next “KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC NORTH EAST” meeting: Thursday 7th October 2021 @7pm via ZOOM
We look forward to meeting you.
Zoom meeting ID: 880 6603 9258 / Password: campaign / Please feel free to use these to join the meeting – ALL ARE WELCOME. If you have never attended before, you will find that the meetings are open, and you are welcome to voice your thoughts and ideas, or sit back and listen – whatever suits you best.
The Campaign continues as strong as ever; the Agenda includes updates from across the NE region, Livi privatisation in North Tyneside, protest work against the Integrated Care System in the North East, the NHS Data Grab, and much more…. We will continue to fight and stand up for our NHS until it returns to be publicly accountable and publicly provided.
Notes from past KONPNE meetings are posted on our news pages here
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4:
LIVID – North Tyneside on the slippery privatisation slope
The private firm Livi has been awarded a contract to carry out virtual consultations in Primary Care in North Tyneside. Whilst this is claimed to be a pilot scheme, and it is to be seen as an addition to the usual GP clinical work, it is undoubtedly part of a very slippery privatisation slope.
WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE… wherever you live in the NE…
Click our “NHS Privatisation in Primary Care” page for an update on developments and information about how to join in.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE “HEALTH AND CARE BILL 2021” AND “INTEGRATED CARE SYSTEMS” – AND TAKE ACTION
The government have recently announced NHS reforms, and you may have been delighted to see them being discussed as reducing the role of the private sector in England. But the reality is that these reforms will mean MORE American-style privatisation of our health service. These plans will give private companies BIGGER roles in decision-making and MORE contracts without any checks and balances. This government is hellbent on involving the private sector in our health service further. But they know this isn’t popular. That’s why they’re putting this spin on these reforms. It’s smoke and mirrors.
We need to show them that we won’t fall for this: we want an NHS run for the public, not profit.
for our Campaign information about the “Health and Care Bill 2021” and “Integrated Care Systems”, and to sign the “We Own It” and “Keep Our NHS Public” petitions
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6:
5 MILLION WAITING – Sign the “We Own It” petition re the NHS waiting list
Patients in every town and city are forced to endure lengthening waits for treatment, often in debilitating pain, and NHS clinicians are working flat out to try to cope with demand. Waiting list statistics reveal a health service in crisis, struggling without adequate resources and staff. It is clear that, in addition to the pressures brought about by the Covid pandemic, we are now also paying the price for the ongoing cuts and closures, and the failure to support the NHS and staff over past years.
to find out more and to go to the “We Own It” petition
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7:
THE NHS DATA GRAB
The Government is trying to slip through a massive change to how NHS patient data is handled. It wants to take the patient records which GPs hold on everyone in England, and enter them all into one massive database – and it wants to make this data available to “third parties” – including private companies.
for more information, to opt out and to sign the petitions
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8:
DEFEND THE RIGHT TO PROTEST – THE POLICE AND CRIME BILL 2021
Through the “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021”, the government is planning to make important changes to the law that will restrict the right to protest.
“The whole point of protest is that it does have an impact and may well cause unease or annoyance to those who do not agree with its aims. The value of our freedom to assemble peacefully and express our views is supremely important, and is protected in law by the Human Rights Act 1998″. National KONP 23rd March 2021
Centene Corporation, an American health insurance giant, has recently taken over AT Medics, a primary care provider responsible for 49 GP surgeries and over 370,000 patients in the Greater London area.
Before these new acquisitions Operose Health, Centene’s UK subsidiary, was already running GP practices in Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Luton, Birmingham, etc. totalling 21 surgeries and practices.
With a total of 70 GP surgeries and practices, Centene is almost certainly the largest single provider of NHS primary care in England. Checkwhether your GP surgery is now owned by Centene.
Even the Daily Mail has called Centene a “profit greedy American health giant”. Sign the petition and oppose the take-over of our GP surgeries by Centene or any other corporation.
Your GP’s surgery might be next – wherever you live
FUND THE NHS – NOT THE PRIVATE SECTOR – SIGN THE KONP PETITION
The UK Government is raiding up to £10 billion from NHS budgets to pay private clinics and hospitals to take NHS patients in England. In the wake of the covid pandemic, our national health service is still not able to treat many of the people who need care.There are thousands of closed hospital beds that could be reopened with adequate resources. The NHS needs MORE resources injected NOW.
Tell the government to leave the £10 billion in the NHS, and not give it to private hospitals:
Over 60 year olds could soon be charged for NHS prescriptions under new plans being floated by the government to raise the age limit for free prescriptions from 60 to 66. This is unacceptable. The pandemic has put a strain on the public finances – but that shouldn’t mean more people being forced to choose between their next meal and receiving medicine they need.
“We wanted to say a huge thank you for being a part of the campaign to stop the government scrapping free NHS prescriptions for over 60s. More than 187,000 of us signed the petition and more than 64,000 of us shared our views in a survey. We turned the results of the survey into a consultation submission, and share it – alongside the petition – with the Department of Health and Social Care. They’ve confirmed that the petition will be referenced to “demonstrate the strength of the public opinion”. They’ve also confirmed that the responses from tens of thousands of us will be included in their evaluation, and thanked us for sharing our views. Their response shows just how powerful our voices can be – and that we can make a difference when we come together to take action on issues like the NHS. We’ll keep you informed of the next steps on this campaign. Thank you for your continued support, Michael, Jonathan, and the 38 Degrees team.”
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14:
ACCESS INFORMATION
> Look through our KONP North East website. CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS for updates and information regarding….
Click herefor links to documentaries about the NHS: The Great NHS Heist (Drew McFadyen and Bob Gill, 2019), Sell Off (Peter Bach, 2014) and Sicko (Michael Moore, 2007) – all are timely reminders about why we do not want an American healthcare system.
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17:
FOLLOW DECISION-MAKING AT LOCAL COUNCILS – 2021
KONPNE are keen for people to follow decision-making at local Council meetings – either by tracking Council minutes online or by attending (via Zoom) as an observer. It is crucial that we are aware of discussions at specific meetings (the “Health and Wellbeing” and the “Health Scrutiny” meetings) so that we are able to keep up-to-date with CCG and Council decision-making regarding “Integrated Care Systems.
Please click our page here if you are interested in finding out more….
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18:
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH KONP NORTH EAST…and tell your family, friends and contacts
All of our regular face-to-face monthly meetings are, of course, cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and we are now holding meetings via zoom. Details of all scheduled zoom meetings are posted above and in our social media – it would be good to see you and hear from you!!
We circulate a regular Campaign briefing by email – If you would like to add your email address to the circulation list, then please contact us at konpnortheast@gmail.com (stating that you would like to join our secure KONPNE mailing list, and that you understand that you can unsubscribe at any time), and….job done.
Also, we host busy and lively facebook and twitter platforms…please help the Campaign by liking, following, commenting, sharing, tweeting, retweeting….Our social media is updated daily and works well….so long as it is shared….. find us atfacebook.com/NHSPublicNorthEastandtwitter.com/KONPNorthEast
We warmly welcome new members and encourage all to be involved and in and to support the future of a publicly-funded and publicly-provided NHS. People can help in many different ways – involvement in specific Campaigns, practical assistance in organising Campaign work, liaison with other organisations, keeping an eye on Council and CCG minutes, assisting with our social media, etc etc etc – please let us know if you have time to assist and be assured of a warm welcome. There is a role for you!!
And finally, wherever you are in the North East, and whatever you are doing, please let us know and keep in touch at konpnortheast@gmail.com
At this time, we offer our gratitude and MASSIVE respect to all health workers and keyworkers.
Take lots of care and keep in touch – all at KONPNE xx
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MORE ABOUT KONPNE
Please see these two-minute youtube videos, which summarise some of the campaign activity throughout recent years:
More details? Please click here for updates, media articles and photos relating to our past (2010 – 19) activity and more recent (2020 – current) activity.
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AND FINALLY…
We provide information about meetings and upcoming events through our Campaign email – circulated approx once per month. Please provide your name and email address to us at konpnortheast@gmail.com stating that you would like to join our secure KONPNE mailing list, and that you understand that you can unsubscribe at any time. We will be pleased to add your name to our circulation list.
We keep a record of your name and email address only – this remains confidential and secure, and we never share this information with anyone else. You are able to unsubscribe from the list at any time. “Keep Our NHS Public North East” takes consent and confidentiality very seriously and these arrangements are to comply with data protection regulations.
