BLOOD SERVICE CAMPAIGN APPEAL FOR SOLIDARITY – JAN 7th PHONE BLOCKADE / LOBBY

Show the UK Health Minister; “The world is watching him”

HOW YOU CAN HELP:-

Register your voice of complaint. Let the UK Health Minister know that thousands oppose the blood cuts.

Please telephone, fax or email the UK Health Minister outlining your concerns about the cuts to the National Blood Service. Help tie down his phone and fax machine on January the 7th with complaints and help us make an impact.

Alan Johnson MP

Phone:-
0207 219 1305
0207 219 6637
01482 219211

Fax:-
01482 219211
0207 219 5856

Email:-
windlet@parliament.uk
|
johnsona@parliament.uk

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SUMMARY:-

The National Blood Service, which filters, processes and distributes blood to the National Health Service in England and Wales is facing massive cuts. Bosses at the NBS plan to axe 600 jobs. They plan to shut most of the country’s regional network of blood processing centres, relying in future on just three centres. The moves have been condemned by all unions in the service, by several affected city councils, and by a number of external bodies. The cuts are risky, and there is no proven need for them. Cuts to the blood service will affect patient care throughout the NHS, as blood will have to travel further along the country’s road network risking the supply of blood to hospitals.

With mounting pressure on the government to intervene, and on the board to ditch their plan, staff and campaigners are confident that a victory can be achieved. We have already won a review into the cuts programme.

The IWW has been fighting hard within the service to oppose the cuts. We have a growing presence in the NBS and we are confident we can achieve a victory, if we can continue mounting up the pressure on the government to intervene and on the board to ditch their cuts plan. Together with growing staff militancy we have won a review into the cuts programme .

The review taking place into the cuts will be published on the 10th of January. With enough pressure we can see the cuts overturned.

Parliament returns from Christmas recess on the 7th. Help tie down his phone and fax machine on the 7th and help us make a big impact.

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Points to note in your communication:-

The closure plans will result in three NBS ’supercentres’ in Bristol, Manchester and Colindale.

Vital labs in Birmingham, Cambridge, Brentwood, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Oxford, Sheffield & Southampton are to close. There will be over 600 job losses as a result.

Certain sections of the NBS, and the work that they perform, are to be phased out. These include specialist services. In most of these fields the NBS is the market leader.

Currently the moves have been strongly opposed by Sheffield City Council, and Liverpool City Council. The restructuring is under investigation by a number of other councils.

The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Board (management for the NBS) restructuring plan is justified by a predicted fall in demand for blood in hospitals.

There are no convincing projections from hospitals that see demand for blood stocks fall. Indeed both demand for blood stocks associated with ethnic minorities particularly, and requirements for specialist blood products and services, are projected to increase.

A review into the NHSBT’s Board’s restructuring plans is underway. The findings will be published on the 10th January. The review is being conducted by management consultantancy firm McKinsey’s.

Since changes to the NBS management in 2005, parts of the service which were previously very comfortably in the black have lost profitability, as a direct result of poor practice and strategy by the government-appointed board of directors.

Currently NBS facilities tend to be no more than 50 miles from the hospitals they serve. After the restructuring this will more than double for many hospitals, leading to increased risk of road accidents and disruption to the blood supply of
hospitals.

In November an NBS van was involved in a road accident in Exeter. This is likely to become increasingly commonplace.

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Further info: www.nbs.iww.org / www.nbs-sos.blogspot.com