Save Your Local NHS: It’s Working!

Here is some HUGE good news: more than 100,000 of us have signed local petitions asking doctors to use their powers to save local NHS services, and it’s working! City and Hackney CCG, in London, have said they’ll adopt 38 Degrees safeguards into their constitution.They’re doing what the government failed to do – protect our NHS, put their patients first, and use their new powers to prevent local health services being damaged by privatisation.

City and Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) joined forces with 38 Degrees to create what they hope will become a model constitution for the rest of the country. The success in Hackney is a huge step forward for two reasons:

1. It proves our campaign can work – if we can win over local doctors in Hackney, we can win over the local doctors taking decisions about your local health services too.
2. It boosts our chances of winning everywhere else – it’s always a bit harder to persuade someone to be the first to do something. Now that City and Hackney CCG have taken the plunge, it should be a little easier to persuade doctors everywhere else.

If we can get in early, while CCGs are still being formed, we can give doctors a better choice – one based on sound legal advice and the interests of patients, not private companies. “If our local communities speak out loud and clear, our local CCG will have to carry out our wishes.”

Dr. Clare Highton, the joint chair of the new Hackney CCG urged locals to become involved in patient organisations so that they can have a say in how services are run.

Can you add your name to the petition in your area?

Get-togethers have started to happen across the country. You can see if one if happening in your area and if not, organise your own.

If lots of us get together and take our message to local Clinical Commissioning Groups we can make sure they know when they stand up for the NHS, they’ve got thousands of us supporting them.