NHS victory in Exeter!

Fantastic news! A vital NHS walk-in centre in Exeter has been saved thanks to 38 Degrees members and other local campaigners coming together to fight for it.

When NHS bosses said they wanted to close Sidwell Street walk-in centre, 38 Degrees member Andrew jumped into action and set up a campaign to stop them. Thousands of people signed his petition, patient groups hit the street to raise awareness and gather signatures, the local paper got involved, then they delivered the petition straight to NHS bosses.

In response to the campaign NHS bosses have said the NHS Walk-in Centre will remain open “for the foreseeable future”.

This centre is used by young people, homeless people, disabled people and hard-pressed parents. So Andrew and other local campaigners weren’t willing to let cuts stop people getting the essential care they need.

This is a fantastic victory for people power: it shows what’s possible when we come together and stand up for what we know is right.

Andrew and other 38 Degrees members collecting signatures outside Sidwell walk-in centre

Andrew says:

“Thanks to local people coming together and getting organised we’ve managed to save this essential NHS centre in our community.

“This is brilliant news for everyone who relies on the Sidwell Street NHS walk-in centre. And it shows what power we can have when we come together to fight for the services that we care about.

“I’d highly recommend to anyone who cares about a local issue setting up a campaign on the 38 Degrees website. It was really very easy to do – it took be only ten minutes to create my petition, then the email and events tools were very useful.”

Andrew started his campaign on Campaigns By You – it’s the part of the 38 Degrees website where anyone can set up a campaign. It’s really easy to do, and there’s a team of people in the 38 Degrees office ready to help. We’ll walk you through every step from setting up your petition, to spreading the word and even how to organise great events.

If there’s an issue you care about, why not set up a campaign today? Perhaps the next victory email 38 Degrees members receive will be about your campaign?

Click here to start your campaign, it takes just a few minutes to get it started.

Let’s take a moment to celebrate what we can accomplish when we all work together.