London rally

Demonstration news

"I think it's important that physiotherapy's voice is heard supporting the NHS". Over 200 people attended the London NHS Together rally in Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, on Saturday 3 March. There was a visibly strong CSP presence as about a dozen members, sat under the CSP banner and waving CSP placards, listened to an address by CSP director of Employment Relations & Union Services, Lesley Mercer, who told the rally:

"The good work of NHS staff is being overshadowed by constant reform. We have to celebrate the NHS' achievements."

To applause from the floor, Lesley told the rally that at the CSP's Annual Representatives Conference (ARC) in Oxford the day before, a motion debated by the full conference opposing the outsourcing of NHS services had been carried unanimously. What was notable about the CSP's motion, Lesley said, was that it was not just a motion debated by union activists, but that delegates voting in favour of the motion were drawn from the private and independent sectors, from management, and from various professional groups, yet all were against the NHS being run on the basis of competition and fragmentation.

Lesley also said that she believed the NHS Together campaign had already "achieved a lot". Recalling the forming of NHS Together, Lesley told the rally:

"At the launch of NHS Together five-and-a-half months ago I spoke of a campaign in Cumbria to stop the closure of seven local hospitals. I'm pleased to be able to tell you that last week we got the good news that all seven hospitals are to be kept open."

To further applause, Lesley told the rally that those same Cumbrian hospital campaigners were, as she spoke, unfurling an NHS Together banner on top of Skiddaw in the Lake District, one of the highest peaks in England.

Lesley went on to praise the success of the NHS Together campaign at national level. Asking 'nationally, what have we achieved?' Lesley highlighted the problem of unemployed graduates, telling the rally that, as at the end of December, 68% of newly qualified graduates were still unemployed and that 2-out-of-3 new physiotherapists were "unable to put their skills and enthusiasm at the service of the NHS thanks to abysmal planning compounded by NHS deficits." Saying that the issue of graduate unemployment is such a big issue of concern to the CSP, Lesley said the CSP had "battled on our own, and we did have an impact. But when NHS Together got involved, we were able to turn it into a joint union campaign, not just a CSP one. We now have a detailed joint action plan coming out which will spell out in detail what needs to be done to tackle graduate unemployment."

Lesley also made reference to the effectiveness of physiotherapy and how the recently announced staged-pay award demonstrated why NHS staff are switched off by Government reforms. But Lesley had a positive message for NHS Together supporters and campaigners everywhere: "If a case is right, and if we're prepared to stick at it, together, we will get somewhere", she said.

Other speakers at the event included fellow TUC General Council member and member of the NUJ, Anita Halpin; UNISON's Head of Health, Karen Jennings; the deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, Louise Silverton; Josie Irwin from the RCN; Paul Bromley from the SoR and Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary of Amicus.

CSP steward Helen Hislop, from Haringey, told Frontline this was the first rally she'd ever attended:

"I'm here because I'm worried by the rapid pace of change in the NHS. I'm not anti-change, but I feel there's no time for the reforms to be embedded before the next lot come along. I think the CSP and the other health unions should be more involved in deciding the pace of change. I'm also here because I feel unappreciated by the Government's decision to stage the pay award."

CSP steward and specialist physiotherapist, Cassandra Jones, also from Haringey, told Frontline:

"I'm here to support the fine work the NHS Together campaign is doing in defending the NHS. I think it's important that physiotherapy's voice is heard supporting the NHS and it's good to see a CSP presence here with placards and the banner."

 

CSP regional stewards Jessica Dentith and Vicki Kendrick were also at the rally.