25.01.1996

Workers’ health plan

THE PAST week has seen the Scottish press reporting, day by day, new stories charting the intensifying spiral of decline of the NHS in Scotland.

Unison, RCN, RCM, BMA, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats all took turns to illustrate the health crisis. Surveys and reports highlighted job losses, a maze of red tape and bureaucracy, increases in managers and administrators, a decrease in front-line staff - medical and auxiliary, a waiting list of 300,000, a demoralised and stressed out workforce. It was then left to James Douglas Hamilton, the Scottish health minister, Geoff Scaife, NHS chief executive in Scotland, and assorted health boards and hospital trusts to hand out the unconvincing excuses and laughable justifications - fiddling while the NHS burns!

While it is essential to rip away the government’s veil of lies and deceit, it is crucial we don’t just sit and moan about how terrible it all is.

It is appalling that on the eve of the 21st century, with humanity’s technological capabilities, we cannot enjoy a free, high quality healthcare system. We need to stand up, get organised and fight back.

It is not just a case of defending the NHS crumbling after years of dereliction and lack of funding. We need to attack, by demanding the most modern, free healthcare for everyone.

The Dundee Campaign against Hospital Cuts and Closures is committed to this course. In the coming months it will put forward a ‘plan for health’ for all of Dundee. We aim to compile a comprehensive plan of health requirements for the city by drawing on the expertise of all health workers and the needs of patients. To be successful we must have as wide an input as possible.

Nick Clarke