Primary privatisation offensive, unleashed by Alan Milburn in 2000 and now driven on by one-time trade union leader now New Labour as health Secretary, alongside newly ennobled maverick surgeon and policy guru Lord Darzi, who was given a ministerial post in Gordon Brown's reshuffle last summer.
Richard launched •Virgin Healthcare' is vying with US private medical giant United Health, and with other corporations and collective entrepreneurial groups of GPs for contracts to run new, private sector provision and new socalled "polyclinics' bringing together various primary care and community services. Where local people have been aware of the tendering process they have protested and even challenged the decisions in private sector sees primary care as an irresistible target, offering as it does small-scale short term profits, but a long term prospect of controlling a growing share of the NHS £76 billion budgets for commissioning services.
While this private for-profit running so-called sector treatment centres delivering uncomplicated waiting list treatment 008 marks the 60th anniversary year of the National Health Service formed by the post-war Labour government and shaped by the great Aneurin Bevan. It Anniuersary
doctor the the NHS. zealot Alan Johnson Branson's newlyintervention. courtbut the In battle continues. companies are independent
NHS: 60 YEARS ON to carefully-screened patients with guaranteed long-term contracts and guaranteed rates of profit: and new deals are still being signed for more hospitals built under the ruinously expensive Private Finance Initiative, which even official figures show is set to cost the NHS £53 billion in payments over the next 30-40 years
hospitals worth just £8 The NHS is being effectively turned upside down in its priorities, and its resources shamelessly milked,
by private sector that barely existed in 1997: has been created and by New Labour since the NHS Plan of 2000. In place of the planned and centrally funded system established by Bevan with the nationalisation of the hospital network in 1948, New Labour is recreating a market system and in some cases openly hankering for a return of some of the discredited institutions and values that delivered so little for working people prior to the launch of
Bevan was a 'left' Labour MP, but nevertheless he had a very clear grasp of the basic principles of collective provision. He was convinced of the superiority of a publicly-owned and provided health care system over the previous market system, which had emerged from World War 2 on the verge of collapse, with much wartime health care provision only funded and provided through government
Although the principle of a welfare state, and the notion of some form of national health care system, had been contained in the 1942 Beveridge Report (commissioned by a Tory-led coalition, and written by a Liberal) the NHS can by no means be seen as the product of some form of all-party consensus.
fact Bevan was strongly denounced by the Tory opposition for his proposals most of all for the nationalisation of the (largely bankrupt) "voluntary' hospitals: and on three successive occasions the Tories mustered a 3-line whip to march their MPs through the Commons lobbies in opposition to the NHS the final occasion being February 9 1948, just
page 21 of the scan
NHS: 60 YEARS ON
five months from the launch of the new system on July 5. Labour Prime Attlee, seeking to downplay the bitter divisions that had made the implementation of the NHS legislation such a headache for Bevan, did try to portray the eventual decision as a triumph of consensus, but Bevan himself never forgave the Tories their opposition, which not prolonged the fight in parliament but also reinforced the resistance Campaigners from Keep Dur MHS Public
Keep oW NHS Publ ww.keepournhspublic.om Minister most especially the GPs.
The NHS has been reformed' and
only
defended. Wat at ak to the new proposals from the British Medical Association, and
restructured in the last seven years than in the previous 53. But despite the building current situation, we must not lose sight of the fact that on the basis of Bevan's framework, it remains a tremendous public service that is still there to be
Important progress has been and involving district and of of suffering The source of A&E
17 made, most of it as a result of the new possibilities opened up by Bevan's 1946 Act-such as the national system that has developed for training doctors, nurses and professionals, the
of large, modern hospitals, and linking them up into a system that can deliver a comprehensive range of services, as well as the efforts made over decades to facilitate more equal access to health care for groups who have historically been failed by market based systems.
The NHS at 60 has 1.3 million staff, a national network of hospitals, health centres, clinies and community-based services,
primary care services GPs, community, and practice nurses and midwives: health visitors; occupational. speech, physiopsychotherapists, which together provide tens of millions
consultations and treatment each year, free of charge.
NHS district and teaching hospitals are all much larger and offer a much more comprehensive range of services than the generally small-scale network
private hospitals which average just 40 beds each, and concentrate only on the least complex and most profitable types of treatment.
Unlike private hospitals, NHS hospitals are staffed 24hours a day by consultants and doctors as well as specialist nurses and experienced support staff: and NHS hospitals maintain a network of almost 3,500 critical care beds high dependency and Intensive Care for patients
potentially lifethreatening conditions. That's why when private hospitals face any emergency situation in which an operation goes wrong, or a patient faces complications, they... rush them to the nearest NHS hospital.
NHS is the only 24-hour emergency servicesambulances and
departments offering a comprehensive mix of care including specialist services that the private sector does not even pretend to provide. In 2005-6 almost 18 million people attended Accident and Emergency units in England. In 2006-7 NIS hospitals admitted over 4.7 million people
emergencies for hospital treatment: no such treatment is available from the private sector.
page 22 of the scan
18
7.8 thousands health 2004-05. and
into coI of these the the cri treated—at
service
been
new
of taking over. not
the impact services. among which: drawn nOW businesses, no and
services: • NHS and and
charge
NHS: 60 YEARS ON •2 Care Trusts pressure to elves of directly vices... and to cost management from list of private sector to help them of €75 billion in budgets; New Labour king to respond
Voice by referring for treatment to hospital, find Lagement teams to alter their override any may have been ears made tive task of the the nearly lem the reorg with the tem of the use lers, have and once incre nior mana taff required. and of th Blair for -contradictions, whie surpluses their local only to regulator, away but who has steful
ensure dive
care to at skews services to the private sector rather than patients' needs. In other words the best way to celebrate the 60th birthday of the NHS is to revisit and revitalise the principles of collective provision and public ownership that affronted Winston Churchill's Tories in 1948, and which has been so scandalously cast aside
inflated by Bevan's ghastly New Labour
equivalents today. We need once more to decommodify health and ensure that our health service runs for patients, not for profits.
page 23 of the scan
Yes! I want to attend the Youth Camp with Socialist Resistance. Please send me more information.
Phone: Tracy, on 0790 64 84 074 Write to: PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU Please pay NatWest, Temple Bar branch, PO Box 10720, Strand, London WC2R 1AL, Sort code 60-80-08, for the credit of Respect Renewal Conference, A/c No
SOCIALIST Name: Phone: Email: Email us: tnt [email protected] A day of discussion and debate including speakers from Respect, Die Linke (Germany) and the Left Bloc (Portugal). New left parties are appearing all across Europe. This seminar gives a rare opportunity for activists in Britain to discuss with British, German and Portuguese socialists what sorts of parties they are trying to build, the challenges they face and the opportunities that are open. 1 Respect This way to join Respect! Membership form Name.. Address
Post code. Phone(s) Email. Return to Respect Renewal c/o PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU RESISTANCE 26 July -1 August 2008 Besalu, Catalonia Youth from Countries all over Europe: Sweden, Switzerland. Including representation from: Palestine, Philippines & Venezuela Address: . Postcode: RESISTANCE New partiesStanding order mandate Amount £... Date of 1st payment: Name of bank: Address of bank:.. Account holder's name: A/c No: Signed 25th International Youth Camp Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spanish State, Scotland, the British and European experiences A Socialist Resistance seminar Saturday 28 June 2008, Central London
Resistance" to: PO Box 1109, London N4 ZUU. Name: Address: E mail: I wish to take out a standing order for Respect Renewal Conference.
.. per month. Amount in words: Post code Sort code:
60601051, the sum of the value indicated above.
19 Topics of discussion include: Globalisation/ Privatisation, Ecology, War and Imperialism, Feminism, Family & Sexuality, Latin America, Palestine, Reform & Revolution, What kind of Society do we want? Reserve your place now and get the early bird discount. Send this form with a cheque for £10 payable to "Socialist
.and the same day each month thereafter Date
page 24 of the scan
Socialist These are just some of the titles we have published to date, and more are in the pipeline. They can be bought from Socialist Resistance, at the address below; or ordered online through Amazon.co.uk Mexico's Zapatista rebels and the Seattle demonstrators were the tip of an iceberg of social and political revolt against the injustices of corporateled globalisation. In 2002 John Holloway, working in Puebla, Mexico, published Change the World without Taking Power. This book debates the implications of that slogan. £6 €9 $12 TAKETHE POWER TO HANGE THEWORLD GLOBALISATION AND THE DEBATE ON POWER Edited with an introduction by Phil Hearse New books from Resistance Socialist Resistance, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU
Ron Ridenour's follow-up to his "Cuba at the Crossroads", written while he was livng and politically acutive in Cuba. £10 €15 $20 BEYOND THE CROSSROADS LOLLE
- Leon Trotsky £12 C18 $25 £6 €9 $12 Ron Ridenour CUBA: Socialist Resistance, London
KARL KAUTSKY FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIANITY WITH ESSAYS BY MICHAEL LOWY. DAVID PACKER, LIAM MAC UAID Kautsky's 1908 Marxist classic is an account of how what began as a minor sect in Palestine became the state religion of the Roman Empire. "There was a time when Kautsky was in the true sense of the word the teacher who instructed the international proletarian vanguard." Celia Hart comes from a family of veteran Cuban revolutionaries who fought with Fidel against the Batista dictatorship. Celia has been an outspoken defender of the political and revolutionary heritage of Leon Trotsky. Her recent articles on this subject have provoked an intense debate on the question of Trotsky internationally. Celia Hart
Edited by Walter Lif It's never too late to love or rebel
page 25 of the scan
SWP ETECRISIS
George Galloway,
Salma Yaqoob,
Alan Thornett, and others
NE W EXPANDED
SOCIALIST RESISTANCE Documents of the differences which developed last year in how Respect should be organised and built, and which led to the split promoted by the SWP following criticism of its leadership role by almost everyone else, including Socialist Resistance. £3.50 C5 $7 A collection of important contributions to the debate on the ecology and global warming, and the limits of capitalism's ability to control the resulting destruction of the environment. A collection of important contributions to the debate on the ecology and global warming, and the limits of capitalism's ability to control the resulting destruction of the environment. This reprinted second edition is essential reading for anyone getting to grips with ecosocialism. £6 €9 $12
ECOSOCIALISM
OR BARBARISM Edited by Jane Kelly and Sheila Malone The title of the collection "Reform or explains why capitalism can never overcome its internal contradictions. An effective refutation of revisionist interpretations of Marxist doctrine, it EDITION democracy, and the character of the proletarian revolution. £6 €9 $12 REFORM
NTRODUCI Revolution' and Other Writings" comes from the famous Red Rosa's best known work. In this 1899 polemic, Luxemburg defines the position of scientific socialism on the issues of social reforms, the state, •revolution ND OTHER WRIT ROSA LUXEMBURC ON BY PAUL BUHLE Forthcoming: this French title is Number 1 of Les Cahiers du Crabe (Notebooks of the Crab): "l'intervention soviétique en Afghanistan (1979)". It presents chronologically documents
from the internal discussion bulletins of
the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire and from its publications—the weekly Rouge, Critique Communiste (the LCR's theoretical review), and Inprecor (International Press Correspondance,
news review of the Fourth International).
£6 €9 $12
Middle East: war, imperialism, and ecology Sixty years of resistance PROMISED LAND LICLOSED 4 MILE Edited by Roland Rance and Terry Conway Since World War Il the Middle East has suffered a seemingly unending period of war, foreign domination, environmental devastation and mass resistance to the region's ruling classes. In this book, that resistance speaks in its own words, in a collection of some of the most powerful articles written in the last sixty years by socialist, ecologist and anti-Zionist activists across the region. £10 €15 $20 LeS CaHIerS DU сгаве L intervention sovietique en Afghanistan 1979) ésmst Net Д0er • 8°1