Yesterday was a national day of action against cuts to the NHS, and Salford people joined the protest outside Royal Bolton Hospital to say `Enough is Enough'…
"We're here because of a combination of things" explained Bolton, Salford and Trafford UNISON rep Karen Reissman "It's linking jobs, services and wages as they're cutting all three – but we're saying that we're not going to let them cut any of them.
"This Government has completely decimated the NHS" she added "They're closing wards – there's one and half general wards closed here at Bolton Royal Hospital in the last two weeks because they can't afford them. And they are planning another two and a half mental health wards to close. The problem is right across the health service; hospitals can't afford to run the wards they need to look after patients and patients are being excluded, they're queuing up in casualty they're being admitted to wards in the wrong specialty and having to be moved. The whole NHS is in crisis.
"They want us to take a wage cut - but not to keep wards and services open, they're cutting them as well!" she said "We're also losing jobs - seventy posts in mental health in the next few months, while the General Hospital has lost posts as well. We have a Government full of millionaires who don't need to use the health service because they can always afford private care. That's not true for 90% of us. We want our health service to remain safe and we're going to fight for it."
This week there have proposals for new `super hospitals' including Salford Royal, but Karen believes care will get even worse…
"There's a new Healthier Together consultation coming out in Greater Manchester and that's about running down hospital care everywhere" she explained "Everybody will be affected by that, and whether you live near one of the hospitals that's going to become a super hospital area or live in one that's been downgraded, you'll find it's harder to get a bed when you need it. That's not good quality care - that will mean patients will die."
Joining the protest was Steve Cullen from USUC (United Service Users Committee), which has fought against the Salford Council and Greater Manchester North West Mental Health Foundation Trust (GMW) `redesign' of mental health services.
GMW also wants to cut older adult mental health in-patient services, slashing the number of beds available for people with dementia, acute anxiety and depression in Salford by almost a half, and closing the Claremont ward at Meadowbrook in order to `re-locate' it, with less beds, miles away at Woodlands in Little Hulton. It also wants to shut down the Hawthorn facility in Bolton, reducing overall beds in both areas by 54 (see previous Salford Star article for further details - click here).
"It's important that people from all authorities that are GMW controlled stick together" Steve said "We're concerned at the way GMW are closing these wards, it's not going to be long before they close complete hospitals and go back to the old style institute that they've been trying to get away from for over forty years.
"People used to say `Don't go near that building it's the nut house', and that is what GMW is going back to" he added "We don't want that, we don't need it and we're not going to stop until the GMW, the Council and the Government take this ridiculous proposal off the table and stop closing wards in hospitals."
Salford Council is supposed to be currently carrying out a consultation on its proposals for changes to its mental health services but Steve argues that it's not being done properly…
"I've asked for questionnaires to give to people but haven't received them and my suspicion is that service users are not being included in the consultation and that it is being done behind closed doors" he said.
He also alleges that he is being blocked from asking questions at next week's full meeting of Salford City Council…
"I sent a question in last week but got told it was submitted too late – the cut off time was 4pm, I sent it at 3:12pm, well within the time" he said "I challenged it and now they're saying that the answers are on the Council website - but to understand it you have to be a council worker to find out where everything is."
Steve Cullen and USUC members will be joining two lobbies next week, against mental health service cuts and other Salford Council welfare cuts, being organised by Salford Against The Cuts and supported by Salford City UNISON.
* Lobby the Labour Group, Monday 9th June, 5pm , Salford Civic Centre
* Lobby the Full Council, Wednesday 11th June Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Street Swinton from 8:30am
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