In the last few days I took the momentous decision to put my name forward for selection as Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency of Blackpool North and Cleveleys. The process is ongoing now and candidates have submitted their names. The next few weeks will be the crunch time.
Being Blackpool born and bred it felt very natural to put myself forward there. My family still live there and I have many friends that I visit regularly on the short journey from where I practise as a GP. The seat has a Tory MP at present and I feel the country has been so let down by the Tory led coalition that I wanted to have an opportunity to make things better for the average working man and woman in Blackpool North and Cleveleys. MPs have huge influence over the working live of millions of people and being in my 40s now I feel I have the life experiences to enable me to understand the problems people have from day to day in their lives and represent them in order to improve their situation.
In the past few years I have campaigned heavily on health issues in fighting the disastrous Health and Social Care Bill that became law last year - see my other entries here for that campaigning journey!
I have set up my own campaigning website which you can find HERE and I am honoured to have some brilliant endorsements which can be found on the website. I have some good friends helping me and we have delivered my campaigning leaflet by hand to every Labour Party member of the constituency. I have also met many members on the doorstep which enabled me to explain a little more about myself and my policies.
I will keep this blog updated about this short process.
Dr David Wrigley
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Monday, 29 April 2013
The Lords have done it again
Wednesday 24th April 2013 will go down as a very black day for the English NHS. You would have thought the NHS needed some TLC in its 65th year but instead it has been dealt a severe blow by our politicians.
Last week the Lords debated further legislation that will in effect put many more services out to tender - and we know when tendering occurs it isn't a level playing field. The large corporate companies are circling like vultures over the NHS - looking for the tastiest morsels to feed on. These companies have buildings full of lawyers, accountants, PR specialists and managers ready to put bids together for contracts that will deliver a tasty profit to their shareholders.
What chance have the small charities or not for profit organisations got against these big boys of the City? None at all.
The Lords had an opportunity to ensure that local clinicians could choose who was best to provide local services rather than be forced to put services out to the market. Local clinicians are more likely to go to the market in order to avoid costly legal disputes which they can't afford on their meagre budgets.
The voting figures can be found HERE and the Liberal Democrats were placed under a three line whip by the LibDem leadership to vote with their Conservative colleagues to ensure the law was passed. It is also worth noting that many members of the House of Lords have declared that they have financial interests in many private healthcare companies - so voting through this legislation was in their wallets best interest too.
This is just the beginning and many campaigners are girding their loins to continue to fight for an NHS that is publicly funded, publicly owned and is publicly accountable. Nothing less than this will do to ensure we protect Aneurin Bevan's legacy.
Last week the Lords debated further legislation that will in effect put many more services out to tender - and we know when tendering occurs it isn't a level playing field. The large corporate companies are circling like vultures over the NHS - looking for the tastiest morsels to feed on. These companies have buildings full of lawyers, accountants, PR specialists and managers ready to put bids together for contracts that will deliver a tasty profit to their shareholders.
What chance have the small charities or not for profit organisations got against these big boys of the City? None at all.
The Lords had an opportunity to ensure that local clinicians could choose who was best to provide local services rather than be forced to put services out to the market. Local clinicians are more likely to go to the market in order to avoid costly legal disputes which they can't afford on their meagre budgets.
The voting figures can be found HERE and the Liberal Democrats were placed under a three line whip by the LibDem leadership to vote with their Conservative colleagues to ensure the law was passed. It is also worth noting that many members of the House of Lords have declared that they have financial interests in many private healthcare companies - so voting through this legislation was in their wallets best interest too.
This is just the beginning and many campaigners are girding their loins to continue to fight for an NHS that is publicly funded, publicly owned and is publicly accountable. Nothing less than this will do to ensure we protect Aneurin Bevan's legacy.
Monday, 15 April 2013
Lobbying MP over new NHS rules
The new NHS laws have many NHS workers and patients worried (including me!) about the direction of travel of the English NHS.
So it is time to write (again) to my MP asking him to support and defend a publicly provided NHS and not allow it be sold off to the highest bidder and fragmented into bite-sized privately owned chunks. This is so important in order to prevent care being fragmented and NHS money seeping away into the boardroom profits of the large City corporate companies.
Here is the letter I have sent and do feel free to copy and paste in order to send to your MP - it may need a little tweaking as I wrote it as a GP constituent of Mr Morris.
Time is of the essence and the letter needs to be sent before 23rd April.
CLICK HERE for the letter.
David
So it is time to write (again) to my MP asking him to support and defend a publicly provided NHS and not allow it be sold off to the highest bidder and fragmented into bite-sized privately owned chunks. This is so important in order to prevent care being fragmented and NHS money seeping away into the boardroom profits of the large City corporate companies.
Here is the letter I have sent and do feel free to copy and paste in order to send to your MP - it may need a little tweaking as I wrote it as a GP constituent of Mr Morris.
Time is of the essence and the letter needs to be sent before 23rd April.
CLICK HERE for the letter.
David
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
The Role of the Royal Colleges
During the Health Bill's troubled journey through Parliament the Medical Royal Colleges played a vital role in lobbying political decision makers. They are trusted friends of Government and seen as apolitical sounding boards. Ministers and Peers often speak to the College Presidents and ask their views on whether policies are 'on track' or able to be pushed through.
This is why their role is vital when changes to the NHS are proposed by politicians.
We are currently seeing vital legislation proposed in Parliament that will force competitive tendering onto newly formed CCGs. Lobbying of MPs and Lords in the next 2 weeks is of huge importance to try and derail these changes. Many NHS workers do not wish to see large corporate companies take over NHS services in order to maximise their profits and boost their share prices.
I have decided to set up my 'Call on the College' website to ask ordinary Medical College members to lobby their College. I will collate the names and forward them on in the next 10 days in order for the College hierarchy to understand that their members do not wish to have competitive tendering forced onto their local NHS services.
It is vital Medical Royal College listen to their members and speak out to defend NHS services. The NHS is heading rapidly towards being parcelled up and sold off to the highest bidder. We must do all we can to stop it.
This is why their role is vital when changes to the NHS are proposed by politicians.
We are currently seeing vital legislation proposed in Parliament that will force competitive tendering onto newly formed CCGs. Lobbying of MPs and Lords in the next 2 weeks is of huge importance to try and derail these changes. Many NHS workers do not wish to see large corporate companies take over NHS services in order to maximise their profits and boost their share prices.
I have decided to set up my 'Call on the College' website to ask ordinary Medical College members to lobby their College. I will collate the names and forward them on in the next 10 days in order for the College hierarchy to understand that their members do not wish to have competitive tendering forced onto their local NHS services.
It is vital Medical Royal College listen to their members and speak out to defend NHS services. The NHS is heading rapidly towards being parcelled up and sold off to the highest bidder. We must do all we can to stop it.
Monday, 18 March 2013
When Amendments Amount to Nothing
Following on from the successful open letter on the dogs dinner that was the section 75 regulations - see my other entry below - the amended regulations have been released.
It isn't good news. The coalition may have changed the wording but the original intention remains. Local commissioners will in effect be forced to put services out to competitive tender in order to prevent legal challenges from companies wishing to muscle in on NHS contracts.
I have decided to launch a second open letter and get as many signatures as possible to pressurise the coalition and let them know that the public DO NOT wish their NHS to be franchised out and sold off to the highest bidder.
You can find my letter HERE and I would urge you to read it and sign it if you agree with its sentiments.
Thank you.
It isn't good news. The coalition may have changed the wording but the original intention remains. Local commissioners will in effect be forced to put services out to competitive tender in order to prevent legal challenges from companies wishing to muscle in on NHS contracts.
I have decided to launch a second open letter and get as many signatures as possible to pressurise the coalition and let them know that the public DO NOT wish their NHS to be franchised out and sold off to the highest bidder.
You can find my letter HERE and I would urge you to read it and sign it if you agree with its sentiments.
Thank you.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
An Open Letter to Parliament
On Sunday 24th Feb I was discussing with colleagues about the latest attempt by the coalition to force privatisation of NHS services on local commissioners. I had an idea to gather names for an open letter to publish in the press and exert further pressure on both Houses of Parliament.
Little did I know that in 48 hours I would collect over 1000 names prepared to sign the letter (below) ranging from nurses, doctors, porters to Professors and senior consultants - staff from across the whole spectrum of the NHS. I wasn't surprised in a way because the NHS engenders such a feeling of support from the whole country and the wish to prevent it from being sold off to the commercial sector is huge.
I hope the Department of Health, Jeremy Hunt, David Cameron and Nick Clegg take heed of this huge groundswell of opinion that we do not wish our NHS to be sold off to the commercial sector. We did NOT vote for this at the last General Election and democracy must be seen to prevail.
The Daily Telegraph printed the letter along with the 1000 plus names on Friday 1st March 2013 and also a story ran on the piece that same day.
In subsequent days there was much discussion about this huge show of concern by doctors, patients and NHS workers and the coalition began urgent talks on how to deal with this latest problem in marketising our NHS. An influential body called the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges wrote a letter to Lord Howe which leaked and the letter expressed serious concerns over this latest move by the coalition.
Unfortunately the Academy had not been quite as forthright during the Health Bill passage through Parliament when it was quite clear to the vast majority of the population that the Health Bill would lead us to where we are now - on the verge of selling off many NHS assets. The Academy undertook an embarrassing u-turn in February 2012 after pressure was exerted by Mr Lansley et al leading them to issue a very bland statement which in effect helped the Health Bill become law.
We must maintain the utmost pressure on all policy makers and medical leaders to continue to oppose the Health Act and subsequent secondary legislation which will continue to sell of parts of our English NHS to the commercial sector.
Please consider writing to your MP as letters to them really do make a difference - you can find out who they are and how to contact them here. Feel free to use any of the information here or a previous blog of mine when you write to them.
------------
This is how I sought signatories to the letter which can also be found below
Little did I know that in 48 hours I would collect over 1000 names prepared to sign the letter (below) ranging from nurses, doctors, porters to Professors and senior consultants - staff from across the whole spectrum of the NHS. I wasn't surprised in a way because the NHS engenders such a feeling of support from the whole country and the wish to prevent it from being sold off to the commercial sector is huge.
I hope the Department of Health, Jeremy Hunt, David Cameron and Nick Clegg take heed of this huge groundswell of opinion that we do not wish our NHS to be sold off to the commercial sector. We did NOT vote for this at the last General Election and democracy must be seen to prevail.
The Daily Telegraph printed the letter along with the 1000 plus names on Friday 1st March 2013 and also a story ran on the piece that same day.
In subsequent days there was much discussion about this huge show of concern by doctors, patients and NHS workers and the coalition began urgent talks on how to deal with this latest problem in marketising our NHS. An influential body called the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges wrote a letter to Lord Howe which leaked and the letter expressed serious concerns over this latest move by the coalition.
Unfortunately the Academy had not been quite as forthright during the Health Bill passage through Parliament when it was quite clear to the vast majority of the population that the Health Bill would lead us to where we are now - on the verge of selling off many NHS assets. The Academy undertook an embarrassing u-turn in February 2012 after pressure was exerted by Mr Lansley et al leading them to issue a very bland statement which in effect helped the Health Bill become law.
We must maintain the utmost pressure on all policy makers and medical leaders to continue to oppose the Health Act and subsequent secondary legislation which will continue to sell of parts of our English NHS to the commercial sector.
Please consider writing to your MP as letters to them really do make a difference - you can find out who they are and how to contact them here. Feel free to use any of the information here or a previous blog of mine when you write to them.
------------
This is how I sought signatories to the letter which can also be found below
Dear all,
Another damaging step is about to occur to our English NHS.
To highlight this I intend to send the open letter which is below to a national newspaper. Please read and then sign your details if you are happy with it.
I am intending to gather as many signatures for this open letter and then send it to a major daily newspaper but I need to do this VERY QUICKLY. Therefore please send this link far and wide to anyone who works in the NHS.
Newspapers always need certain information and not just a name. Therefore I am asking for your name, job title, location and address and a daytime telephone number. I give you my ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE I will not release anything apart from your name job title and location. So in the newspaper mine would look like this Dr David Wrigley, GP, Lancashire.
Many thanks and below is the letter I intend to send.
DEADLINE is WED 27th Feb midday.
David
@davidgwrigley
More information can be found HERE
Dear Sir/Madam,
We write as doctors and healthcare workers who are worried about the latest attempt by the government to irreparably damage our NHS. The government has just laid secondary legislation (under Section 75 of the Health & Social Care Act) to force virtually every part of the English NHS to be opened up to *compulsory* competitive markets, open to the private sector to bid for NHS contracts. In just over a month these regulations will be law.
Parliament does not normally even debate or vote on this type of regulation – but it is possible. Even those Lib Dems who supported the Health & Social Care Act should be very concerned as the regulations break the reassurances offered by the Government to both Houses of Parliament, to local Clinical Commissioning Groups and to the English electorate that the Act allowed local choice about when to use competition. But these new regulations do not allow local freedom to decide when to use competition in the provision of our healthcare.
These regulations were laid down on 13th February and will become law on 1 April unless MPs first insist on a debate and then vote them down.
The campaigning group 38 Degrees has launched an urgent petition and we urge Parliamentarians to force a debate to discuss and vote on this issue, which is a further nail in the coffin of a publicly provided NHS, free from the motive of corporate profit allowing it to concentrate on patient care first and foremost.
Yours,
Another damaging step is about to occur to our English NHS.
To highlight this I intend to send the open letter which is below to a national newspaper. Please read and then sign your details if you are happy with it.
I am intending to gather as many signatures for this open letter and then send it to a major daily newspaper but I need to do this VERY QUICKLY. Therefore please send this link far and wide to anyone who works in the NHS.
Newspapers always need certain information and not just a name. Therefore I am asking for your name, job title, location and address and a daytime telephone number. I give you my ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE I will not release anything apart from your name job title and location. So in the newspaper mine would look like this Dr David Wrigley, GP, Lancashire.
Many thanks and below is the letter I intend to send.
DEADLINE is WED 27th Feb midday.
David
@davidgwrigley
More information can be found HERE
Dear Sir/Madam,
We write as doctors and healthcare workers who are worried about the latest attempt by the government to irreparably damage our NHS. The government has just laid secondary legislation (under Section 75 of the Health & Social Care Act) to force virtually every part of the English NHS to be opened up to *compulsory* competitive markets, open to the private sector to bid for NHS contracts. In just over a month these regulations will be law.
Parliament does not normally even debate or vote on this type of regulation – but it is possible. Even those Lib Dems who supported the Health & Social Care Act should be very concerned as the regulations break the reassurances offered by the Government to both Houses of Parliament, to local Clinical Commissioning Groups and to the English electorate that the Act allowed local choice about when to use competition. But these new regulations do not allow local freedom to decide when to use competition in the provision of our healthcare.
These regulations were laid down on 13th February and will become law on 1 April unless MPs first insist on a debate and then vote them down.
The campaigning group 38 Degrees has launched an urgent petition and we urge Parliamentarians to force a debate to discuss and vote on this issue, which is a further nail in the coffin of a publicly provided NHS, free from the motive of corporate profit allowing it to concentrate on patient care first and foremost.
Yours,
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Section 75
Urgent, immediate action required pleaseSecondary legislation under Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012We have only learned this morning that the deadline for writing to the clerk mentioned below is tomorrow Monday 25th February so please write NOW if you can. We would be grateful if you also ask your friends and contacts to do the same.The essential message is at the foot of this e-mail• On 13th February 2013 the Government published the regulations (SI 257) under Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012• Assurances were given by ministers during the passage of the Bill through Parliament that it did not mean the privatisation of the NHS, that local people would have the final say in who provided their NHS.• The regulations just published break these promises by creating requirements for virtually all commissioning done by the National Commissioning Board (NCB) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to be carried out through competitive markets, which will have the effect of forcing through privatisation regardless of the will of local people. They contain legal powers for Monitor to enforce the privatisation spontaneously or at the request of private companies that lost bids.• They would also make it impossible to fulfil some of the key thrust of the Francis report recommendations.This Statutory Instrument (SI) will be going to the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee on 5th March; this Committee will then report to the House. If people contact the Clerk of the Committee to emphasise its importance it will encourage them to look seriously at the Secondary Legislation and then hopefully report it to the House as meriting special attention. This in turn helps the tone of the debate on the SI.The Clerk can be contacted at seclegscrutiny@parliament.uk <mailto:seclegscrutiny@parliament.uk> .According to HSJ, "Lawyers working in the NHS told HSJ the regulations could have wide-reaching implications on the mix of providers of NHS-funded services. The rules ban “any restrictions on competition that are not necessary”. They say contracts can only be awarded without tender for “technical reasons, or reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights” or for “reasons of extreme urgency”."EXAMPLE E-MAIL
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Secondary legislation under Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:29:41 +0000 From: To: <seclegscrutiny@parliament.uk> Dear Sir / Madam, Secondary legislation under Section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 I understand that the Lords' Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee will be discussing the regulations laid by the Government under Section 75 of the new NHS Act (1) at their meeting on 5 March. I should like to draw to your attention the radical nature of these regulations. During the passage of the Health and Social Care Act through Parliament ministers constantly reassured us that there was no possibility of NHS services being forced into 'the market', and that the health regulator Monitor would not have powers to enforce such a change. It followed that the NHS would not therefore be subject to EU competition law, and thus no irrevocable change was being made to its status. However, examination of the new regulations reveals that local commissioners, the new Clinical Commissioning Groups, will have no power to resist Monitor's demands, will be less able to introduce quality criteria, in addition to cost criteria, into the contracts they are required to let, and will have less opportunity to consult local people about their plans. Since this is in direct contravention of what was said to Parliament, I hope you will be able to ensure their Lordships know that these regulations merit special attention and are not simply implemented without contradiction and change. Yours faithfully, (1) The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) Regulations 2013) made under Section 75 of the Health & Social Care Act 2012) [2] [2] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/257/contents/made
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