Councillors joined campaigners for an event to highlight what they say is the threat to an NHS doctors’ surgery from a private company.
Labour councillors David McGregor and Andrei Czolak turned out to support a tug of war held at the Old Steine on Saturday (14 June).
The event was organised by Sussex Defend the NHS, with the tug of war chosen to symbolise the plight of the Wellsbourne Healthcare surgery in Whitehawk.
The campaign group is raising awareness of a proposal to change who runs health services at the NHS surgery. It is currently operated by Wellsbourne Healthcare Community Interest Company (CIC).
The CIC stepped in when a private company walked away in 2016 in a financial dispute with NHS commissioners – and the official watchdog has rated the current service as good.
But the commissioners recently published a notice of their intention to award the contract for running the surgery to another private company, One Medical Group, based in Leeds.
Taking part in the tug-of-war were GPs (general practitioners), health workers, patients and volunteers from Wellsbourne Healthcare.
Sussex Defend the NHS campaigner Janet Sang said: “There was fantastic public support for Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC on Saturday at our tug of war.
“There were many more of us campaigning for people, not profit, and we won each time against the private, for profit One Medical Group and the commissioners.”
But why are councillors being silent on the rushed 50% cuts to ICBs? This could be incredibly damaging and impact on many future commissioning decisions in the area and there’s nothing from them on this.
100% the community should be making noise on about this practice, they are doing the right thing by challenging the decision. However, it just looks disingenuous though for local councillors to be joining them when their party in Westminster are imposing such rapid changes to ICBs nationally which will impact on so many future commissioning decisions. With social care professionals – eg former head of Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) saying that ICB cuts risk ‘drop in outcomes’ – they should be doing more voice concerns about the concerns being raised, rather than joining a community tug of war for a photo op.
https://www.lgcplus.com/services/health-and-care/icb-cuts-risk-rise-drop-in-the-outcomes-20-05-2025/
Fetch, they are being abolished completely. It’s part of their wind-down process. It’s an important point though, and one I think needs to be included in the devolution process – full health and care commissioning powers at the local or regional level with the funding to match. Has to be done right though, otherwise, I could just end up being window-shopping.