Fighting on for higher pay in the NHS
As junior doctors in the BMA prepare for three days of strike action this week, the pay fight isn’t over across the health service.
We need coordinated action to save the NHS
Health staff, unions, patients, communities and campaign groups must come together to stop the collapse of the NHS.
NHS in crisis – fightback on pay can help save it
Health campaigner Gill George analyses the crisis facing the NHS – both nationally and in Shropshire, where she lives – and the campaigns to fight back.
Are the Tories really reversing NHS privatisation?
The Tories’ new proposed health reforms grab more power for ministers – but that doesn’t mean an end to health privatisation.
Thousands march in first move of NHS pay battle
A wave of actions by NHS workers opens the door for a major struggle against austerity and poverty pay
NHS workers facing redundancy in a pandemic
While Matt Hancock was clapping for NHS workers, plans were going ahead to make a large group of them redundant.
Fighting for the NHS: victory in Wales
The Tories may clap, but they had brought the NHS to its knees before Covid-19. The campaign to save an A&E in South Wales shows how communities can defeat cuts and role back austerity.
NHS and climate at the core of Labour manifesto #GE2019
The Labour Party manifesto focuses on healthcare and climate. It’s a step in the right direction on both counts, but doesn’t go far enough.
“No human is illegal”: NHS staff speak out on Windrush
The Windrush scandal was the inevitable result of the “hostile environment”- we need to push back and support the rights of all migrants
What do we need to do to defend the NHS?
Pete Gillard assesses the limitations of Labour’s manifesto promises on health and argues that enthusiasm for the NHS can be used to build unions among health workers.
Fighting for the NHS, a moment for Corbynism
Rob Owen reflects on the largest demonstration for the NHS in recent memory.
Whose NHS? #ourNHS
Thousands of people are making their way to London to demonstrate for the NHS, to say no to cuts, closures and privatisation. This march brings together NHS users and workers who want to resist the government’s constant erosion of services, funds and morale within the NHS. This winter has been the hardest ever for the NHS. […]
500 march in Wellington, Shropshire to defend the NHS
Pete Gillard reports 500 people braved torrential rain on Saturday to march through Wellington, Shropshire in defence of the NHS. Local health bosses have long wanted to close one of Shropshire’s two A&Es and an acute hospital in an area that covers over three times the size of Greater London. At a secret meeting a […]
The connection between the #JuniorDoctorsStrike and the American corporate takeover of the NHS, part 2
In Part 1, Dr Bob Gill (@DrBobGill) explained the unreported and sinister drive behind the push to change Junior Doctors’ contracts. Part 2 discusses what this means for the future of the NHS, as well as the importance of the current dispute. Reposted with the author’s permission from the Keep Our St Helier Hospital website.
The connection between the #JuniorDoctorsStrike and the American corporate takeover of the NHS, part 1
Dr Bob Gill (@DrBobGill) explains the unreported and sinister drive behind the push for changing junior doctors’ contracts. Reposted with the author’s permission from the Keep Our St Helier Hospital website.
The NHS Choir sings for the #JuniorDoctorsStrike – video report
On 10 February, Junior Doctors again went on strike to protest against the government’s proposals for a new contract. But their action is also part of wider fight to save the NHS against increasing privatization. As shown by the NHS Choir’s Christmas number 1, this struggle which has found broad public backing. Michael Shaw was there to film the […]
#JuniorDoctorsStrike: The government wants to impose this contract on us. Let’s show them who really owns the NHS.
The government has stated that they intend to impose their hated contract on Junior Doctors, Rhian Smith a medical student, looks at the risks and choices ahead. “7 day care” or not, the NHS will rapidly fail without a quick injection of funding and staff. How we respond at this juncture will shape the future […]
The other NHS strike – why bursaries for student nurses matter
While attention has largely been focused on the series of industrial actions planned by Junior Doctors, they are not the only NHS workers threatened by proposed government reforms. Mario A, a student nurse, explains why he and his colleagues are planning a walkout, and what it means for the future of the NHS.
Save our NHS! Junior doctors speak
On Tuesday 12 January, junior doctors went on strike to protest the government’s new contract proposal. rs21 members, along with other supporters, joined them in solidarity at picket lines across the country. Interviews by Duncan Thomas and Ian Allinson. [wpvideo vAvEM2kQ]
The secret life of the NHS
As junior doctors prepare to strike tomorrow, Sophie Walton uncovers the reality of a working life that has driven doctors to breaking point. The rs21 leaflet supporting the strike can be downloaded here It’s 8.00 am Monday morning, and we’re in the handover meeting. There are printed lists in the centre of a large, boardroom […]
#bursaryorbust: student nurses fight to defend the NHS
Today thousands of student nurses will march through London demanding that the NHS bursary should not be scrapped. Emma RC discusses the campaign she’s been part of at King’s College London and argues the #bursaryorbust campaign is part of a wider fight in defence of the NHS. Like most years since its birth, it has […]
The secret life of the NHS – new rs21 magazine out on Saturday
The January 2016 issue of the rs21 magazine will be out on Saturday. Order your copy or subscribe here. Below, Rob Owen gives an overview of the new edition. Issue includes: The secret life of the NHS, the life of a junior doctor, by Sophie Walton Joe Sabatini and Tabitha Spence looking at climate politics from […]
Dismantling the NHS is turbo-charged neoliberalism: Review of How to Dismantle the NHS in 10 Easy Steps
NHS activist Gill George reviews Youssef El-Gingihy’s book How to Dismantle the NHS in 10 Easy Steps The NHS is a milestone in history – the most civilised step any country has ever taken The quote above is what Aneurin Bevin told the first NHS patient ever to be treated, back in 1948; and that’s how Youssef […]
Will the NHS survive another winter?
Mark Boothroyd, co-ordinator of the Four-to-One campaign which is calling for the introduction of nurse-to-patient ratios in the NHS, discusses the crisis in the NHS and what might result without a campaign against cuts and demoralisation. This article was originally published on OpenDemocracy. Over fifteen thousands of doctors marched down Whitehall last weekend, in protest at the imposition […]
A national NHS campaigners’ convention: A view from the inside
Sophie W, a medical student in rs21, interviews Joanna Adams from 999 Call for the NHS , a grassroots campaigning organisation, in advance of their national convention on Saturday 28 February. The NHS is in the midst of a deep crisis. While politicians and political parties talk of their visions for its future, health campaigners are […]
Strike for wages, strike for the NHS
NHS workers are on strike today from 7am to 11am over attacks on their pay. Head down and show your support at the picket lines. The rs21 leaflet supporting the strike can be found here. The NHS is at breaking point. Chronic underfunding and under-investment is putting patients at risk. Instead of ending the scam […]
Inside the NHS: why workers are taking action
Tomorrow healthcare workers from across nine unions are taking action over defence of pay at the NHS. The strike is for four hours between 7am and 11am. The rs21 leaflet in support of the strike can be found here Mary, a student nurse at King’s College London, highlights the important of those at the start […]
First NHS pay strike for decades gets a great response from the public
by Sophie Williams (Midwives’ picket line at North Manchester General Hospital – photo by Sam O’Brien) Yesterday saw the first national NHS pay strike for 32 years, and the first strike in the 133 year history of the Royal College of Midwives. Picket lines were upbeat and received a lot of support from passers-by. In Harrow, […]
Review: How can we save the NHS?
Sophie Williams, a health activist in London reviews Mark Broothroyd’s pamphlet How Can we Save the NHS? recently published by the International Socialist Network Recent weeks have seen a large vote for strike action by NHS England workers against real-term pay cuts. Although this is the first national NHS industrial action to be taken over […]
Secret diary of a NHS nurse
In the first of a new series that looks at what it’s like on the ground for NHS workers facing cuts and privatisation, our correspondent under the pseudonym “the secret nurse”, describes her experience applying for NHS funding and her shock at the entrance of Richard Branson into healthcare I have been a healthcare assistant and […]