lotteries and straightforward. appeals to. faithful. Once upon a time, Britain's hospitals were funded in this way. That time is also now.
It isn't simply for those 'little extras', such as TV sets, that National Health Service hospitals are increasingly turning to charity.
The cash limits on health introduced by the last Labour government and now dear to the hearts of the Snatcherites mean that hospital administrators are going cap in hand for a few extras such equipment, and the routine repair of wards.
In short, the Tories' closely approximates to: "Let it bleed'. have another policy for health: 'Let the cash register tinkle'. The Tories are consistent, for the first leads inexorably to the second — tens of millions of casualties littered in between, namely working class people.
The plan is simple enough, as the balance sheets of the Association show. This outfit, the largest of the health insurers, had a subscription income last year of £82m. It paid out £50.7m in benefits. Eureka!
and least likely treatment. For the over 65s, the chronic sick, and the disabled the premiums are much steeper. The mentally ill and pregnant women can forget it. In other words, those most in need of health care can make do with the NHS, which is falling to pieces. Oh, sorry.
Who gains? companies for a start, and they now cover 2.4m people in Britain, 25 per cent more than in 1971. 'hen there's the orivate such as American Medical International, which is a multi-national with Britain, Switzerland, and Austria.
And there is also those esteemed members of the medical profession, most particularly a large the ambulances, medical policy for the NHS They with some United Provident to recure The private health insurance medical companies, hospital projects in number of consultants, who will give an arm and a leg fours, that is] for a weekend villa in France and a Rolls Royce.
The result is that by March of this year there were 122 private hospitals in Britain dealing with acute cases.
All these doctors of death rubbed their hands when the Snatcherites took over in Westminster, for they, of course, are the merchants of 'free enterprise'. 'We intend to facilitate the wider use of private medical care, the Tories said in the Queen's speech.
So what are they up to? The Tories want to she recent royal Commiston, on the NES.
the recent koval Commission They've said they will abolish the Health Services Board, which was set up to phase out the 3,000 pay beds in NHS hospitals.
They will make life richer for the consultants, Pals on the by making it easier for them to work both within the NHS and do private hospitals which are axed from the NHS will be handed over to the private sector.
How do we save the NHS, and our lives? By opposing all the cuts and service jobs. By fighting for the NHS to provide facilities which depend on charities or private hospitals, such as day-care abortion units and kidney machines.
By taking direct action to convert pay beds into NHS beds, and preventing the building of any more private hospitals. By demanding an immediaté stop to unions such as the electricians' supporting private medical schemes, and that the whole of the private sector be brought into the NHS.
For if we don't, the doctors of death will be waiting for us.
The result — a lobby of the county hall on 16 October, from 12.15 to The 2.15pm. Virtually every public sector union will be supporting it, calling on is the Tories to halt the cuts now. Several thousand are expected on the lobby.
resource.
And members John as well as jobs.
Empire And small claim to defending health particular faith people presently the Foreign implies distant • StaLe Services. IT SEEMS that all across the globe tears are being shed at the Tories proposed 10 per cent cut in the budget of BBC External Services of Britain relayed to foreign parts • Wrote Chris Hitchens in the New Statesman: It may seem odd to some people that a government pledged to "Britain's standing • In the world" should commit such an act of vandalişm against a precious national the two unions whose threatened by the the NUJ and ABS — have risen to this latter day Bullism, launching joint *Hands off the BBC campaign in order to defend the 'national interest The Tories evidently have a better appreciation of the shrunken role of British imperialism than those who have abandoned Fact one: BBC External Services which began in 1932 as the Empire Service Broadcasts, is funded from Office's 'information vote. Fact two: BBC management is always at pains to deny that this Many governmentai control over editorial policies. Yet the only example ever wheeled out to support this contention is the reporting of the Suez invasion, which occurred a mere With daily broadcasts in 38 languages, few in Britain can claim to know just what is being beamed into transistor But incidents which from time to time shed some light on the goings-on at Bush House suggest that the British well served by External
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