Tag: Walsgrave

Coventry Socialists start 2018 campaigning to defend the NHS

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Coventry Socialists start 2018 campaigning to defend the NHS

NHS stall

Signing the petition calling for Jeremy Hunt to go

Coventry Socialist Party kicked off 2018 in the city centre with the continuation of the campaign to defend the NHS against cuts and privatisation.

People were understandably angry with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt who was forced to apologise over Christmas for the latest crisis in the NHS, with around 55,000 operations cancelled. SP members spoke to a number of NHS workers as well as patients and their relatives who are having to pay high sums of money to use the car park at Walsgrave – another result of the Private Finance Initiative rip off.

With a campaign stall also taking place in Radford’s Jubilee Crescent, Coventry Socialist Party are looking forward to building the movement to save the NHS during 2018.

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Book your place on the Coventry buses to national demonstration to save our NHS!

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Book your place on the Coventry buses to national demonstration to save our NHS!

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Join the demo to say no cuts, no closures and no privatisation!

Saturday 4th March will see tens of thousands of ordinary people descend on London to protest against the destruction of our National Health Service which is under threat from cuts, closures and privatisation.

The march is being organised by Health Campaigns Together and is now being backed by unions such as UNITE, PCS, UNITE, CWU and many more. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has also announced his support and will be attending. Buses are being organised from Coventry, and we urge everyone to attend!

To book a place on the buses or to get more info, fill in the form below or text Kieran on 07709 598942

Please also like the Facebook page of Coventry NHS SOS to keep in touch about future events and meetings!

£250m NHS cuts in Nuneaton and Warwick revealed

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£250m NHS cuts in Nuneaton and Warwick revealed

George Eliot Hospital (pic: Cov Telegraph)

Today the Coventry Telegraph revealed that under the “Sustainability and Transformation Plan”, set to be officially announced on Tuesday, A&E, maternity and children’s care facilities will all be closed at Nuneaton’s George Eliot Hospital.

The Telegraph states that other headline changes include:

  • Closing the Accident and Emergency department at George Eliot Hospital as well as moving maternity and children’s care to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW).
  • Bosses also want more people to have babies at home, there will be restrictions on overweight people and smokers getting non-emergency surgery and increasing the time between hip replacements.
  • Cancer care is also in line to be reviewed.
  • Stroke care at Warwick Hospital and George Eliot is also set to be moved to Coventry

Further NHS cuts in Nuneaton and Warwick threaten services across the area, including in Coventry. Along with further privatisation this will undermine our health service – the NHS should be completely publicly owned and free at the point of use! Coventry and Nuneaton Socialist Party  has a proud history of fighting and helping to stop numerous attacks to the NHS and George Eliot Hospital, from both Tory and New Labour governments, and will continue to campaign to save NHS services.

We will be mobilising for the Health Campaigns Together “It’s Our NHS” demonstration in London on March 4th to bring together the many local campaigns fighting to save NHS services in their area.

If you would like to get involved, get in touch – fill in the form below!

Support the junior doctors! New strikes announced

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Support the junior doctors! New strikes announced

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Picket line at Walsgrave

The union representing junior doctors has just announced a new plan of industrial action. The British Medical Association (BMA) will go on strike against the imposition of the new contract initially for 5 days, beginning on Monday 12th September to Friday 16th September between 8am and 5pm.

The Socialist Party and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition fully supports the junior doctors in their campaign to defend their terms and conditions and the NHS itself.

It is now a critical task that they receive the maximum support of the entire trade union movement. The TUC will hold it’s annual conference in Brighton and it needs to be turned in to a council of war with the aim of building co-ordinated industrial action linking up the many different disputes in the public and private sector to defeat the capitalist austerity agenda of the Tories.

The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) will be holding a public rally at TUC conference where the speakers will include Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Ronnie Draper of the BFAWU and many more and will be discussing how we build support for the junior doctors and the opposition to the Tories.

What’s on in Coventry – Dates for your diary

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What’s on in Coventry – Dates for your diary

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The coming weeks will see a number of protests, rallies and meetings taking place in Coventry. We have compiled a diary below of some of the events we are aware of. If you would like to help us put forward Socialist ideas at these events, for e.g distributing leaflets, our newspaper The Socialist etc. Please get in touch!

Tuesday 26th and Weds 27th April – Junior Doctors are on strike! Please support the picket lines at Walsgrave from 8am

Thursday 28th April – International Workers’ Memorial Day. Commemoration organised by Coventry TUC 12-1pm, in the garden behind Drapers next to Council House. Includes speakers from UCATT, Coventry TUC and other trade union organisations

Saturday 30th April – May Day event organised by Coventry TUC. Shout out against austerity. 12 noon, Broadgate Square. Speakers include Matt Wrack, leader of the FBU

Thursday 5th May – Local elections. Vote TUSC!

Saturday 7th May – Coventry Friend of Palestine are organising a Flashmob as part of international solidarity events to coincide with the anniversary of the Nakba (creation of the state of Israel). For more information and other events, visit their FB page

Thursday 12th May – 7.30pm Methodist Hall, City Centre. Coventry Socialist Party post election public meeting. Panama Papers, Tories split over the EU, rise of Socialism in the US. How can we build the fight for the 99 per cent. FB event here

Saturday 21st May – #wearecov protest against the English Defence League. The EDL are coming to Coventry. There will be a counter protest. Provisional time and location – 11am Broadgate Square.

Thursday 2nd June – No to the bosses’ EU – yes to a Socialist Europe. Public rally on the EU referendum organised by the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. More details to follow

Scrap Parking Charges at Walsgrave Hospital!

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Scrap Parking Charges at Walsgrave Hospital!

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Parking charges at Walsgrave Hospital have been increased again, despite thousands of people signing a petition calling for them to be scrapped.

This means it will now cost £2.30 to park for just an hour, while stays of 7 hours or over will be a massive £8.50!

The charges were brought in as a result of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), which was brought in by Labour and was the first step towards the attempted privatisation of the NHS which is now being pushed by the ConDem Government. The charges had previously been reduced in 2011 as a result of a mass campaign led by the Socialist Party.

Rob McArdle, the prospective Socialist candidate for Lower Stoke, said “Socialists in Coventry have fought many years against NHS parking charges. We call for all PFI to be scrapped, millions of pounds of taxpayers money is being wasted on these projects. This diverts money away from our NHS and results in a poorer service for patients. We call for a properly funded PUBLIC NHS, end PFI now!”

For free parking at Walsgrave – kick PFI and privatisation out of the NHS!