"The NHS is not for Sale you Toss.." - 208k hits on Youtube

The Observer and the Sunday Mirror today reveal that Council Binman and rap singer "NxtGen" (aka Sean Donnelly see picture) age 22 was supported by UNISON with regard to the filming of his song

on Youtube - "Andrew Lansley Rap".  

I had listened to a BBC Radio news report on the huge success of the song on YouTube while driving home this lunchtime (over 200,000 hits - which I had posted last month here).

Hat-tip COHSE

Update: You can buy the single online here from itunes

Andrew Lansley "tosser" Rap

This is just a little bit rude about our well beloved Tory Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley.... But he is intent on destroying the NHS. 

Hat tip COHSE Union

In the final frame there is a superb quote about the NHS by Nye Bevan which I will not spoil by revealing. 
Instead this below is one of my favourite "Nye" quotations about the NHS.

. A free health service is pure Socialism .—Aneurin Bevan, In Place of Fear, p106

Update: you can buy the single online here from itunes!

St Georges Hospital, London - £55 Million Cuts - 500 Jobs going

Despite the great news today about the Tory climbdown over the privatisation of our Forests and the apparent retreat over reducing Housing benefit for the unemployed.  This Government still shows its nasty, vindictive side by the announcement that "Leading Hospital" St Georges in Tooting London will suffer £55 million in cuts and 500 hospital jobs (10%) cut.  Three wards are due to close. 

UNISON PRESS RELEASE "Staff at St Georges Hospital, South London have acted with growing shock and anger at the announcement that 500 posts ( almost 10% of the workforce)at the hospital are to be axed as part of the Governments 20 billion NHS cuts programme.

St George's will now be forced to cut £50m from its annual budget, cut 500 medical nursing and health care posts close wards, cut approximately 100 beds, and cap the number of births in its Midwifery unit to 5,000 a year Posts affected include frontline doctors, nurses and professional staff.

Michael Walker, UNISON Regional Officer, states "In a week when the bankers are set to receive huge pay rises and multi million pound bonuses, we are going to witness the spectre at St George's of dedicated nurses, doctors and health staff losing their jobs. How can that be fair or right?"

Nurse Jane Pilgrim, UNISON Nursing Convenor at St Georges Hospital states:
"We were told by the Government that there would be no cuts in frontline posts but in reality the NHS is witnessing swingeing cuts to frontline services every day".

Geoff Thorne, UNISON St George's Branch Secretary stated: "Before the General Election Andrew Lansley visited St Georges Hospital and gave a personal guarantee to staff that there would be no frontline cuts in the NHS"

Nora Pearce UNISON Midwifery Convenor states: "Capping the number of births at St George's to just 3,000 a year will mean thousands of local women will no-longer be able to have their babies at St George's, denying them the back up and confidence they know comes from having a baby at an internationally renowned teaching hospital.

Michael Walker, UNISON Regional Officer stated: "UNISON will be working with St George's Hospital management to mitigate the impact of these cuts on patients and staff. Mr Lansley needs to urgently recognise the damage he is causing to the NHS with these unprecedented levels of cuts".

"We fear these cuts are just the prelude to even greater cuts in our NHS when the Government unleash GP Commissioning and GP's are forced to ration care.  "We urge all local Member's of Parliament, of all political persuasion’s to intercede and urge Andrew Lansley the Conservative Secretary of State for Health to halt these disastrous cuts at St George's before patient care suffers.