CAMDEN KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC

Do you know that general practices are threatened with privatisation?

Do you want the NHS to be run by companies that value shareholders over patients?

Do you believe that GP-Led Health Centres will benefit patients?

Whatever your answers, join the campaign group
Camden Keep Our NHS Public (Camden KONP)
(also known as Camden Keep Our GPs in the NHS)

Aims and activities

The main aim of Camden Keep Our NHS Public (Camden KONP) is

      to work to keep the original principles of the National Health Service,
      with free treatment for all provided by the state

The group does not believe that these principles can be upheld if general practices are handed over to profit-making companies and if GP-Led Health Centres, likely both to harm existing practices and to be run by private companies, are set up at vast cost.

In pursuit of its aims Camden KONP works to spread information and raise awareness about what is happening to medical practices in the area. It has also gathered signatures for a petition to the health authorities (a petition signed by more than 2000 people was delivered to Camden's Primary Care Trust offices on 14 February 2009; signatures to a new petition are now being sought). And it sends letters and articles to the media whenever appropriate, as well as making its presence known at community events.

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News from Camden KONP

[Christmas party for all on our mailing list, 15 December: see Events page and leaflet.]

26 November 2009

HOW PEOPLE POWER CAN CHANGE THINGS!

• In July NHS Camden decided to award the contract for a new so called GP led health centre to a private company Care UK.
• Two weeks ago they announced they would not be challenging our case against their lack of consultation in the High Court.
  
• They then presented new plans for two 'easy access centres' with consultation due to start on 1st December.
• This week they have withdrawn these proposals from the Council's Scrutiny Committee and do not propose bringing any new proposals until after the election in summer or autumn 2010.

Friday 13 November 2009

25 October 2009

NHS Camden didn't wait for the end of the consultation on primary and urgent care (see 16 July entry) before it announced that plans for the GP-Led Health Centre in Hampstead Road were going ahead and that the contract for running the centre would be awarded to the private firm Care UK. The good news now is that those plans are on hold, pending a possible judicial review by mid-December. The legal challenge is in the name of a former Camden councillor, Bob Austin, backed by Camden KONP. 

Although legal aid will be available for this challenge, a community contribution is also required and donations to the legal fund will be welcome (cheques payable to "Camden KONP Group" can be sent to Camden KONP, c/o 49 Rossendale Way, London, NW1 0XB).

A meeting about the latest events will be held on 30 November (6.30 p.m., Dick Collins Hall, Redhill Street, NW1 9DJ).

16 July 2009

Following the success of the Camden KONP meeting on 10 June (see below) another well-attended public meeting was held in Somers Town on 16 July, with Frank Dobson, MP, and others as speakers. One topic was the consultation process on Primary and Urgent Care Strategy that NHS Camden (a new name for the Primary Care Trust) is carrying out from now until 9 October. It is important that as Camden residents we should make our feelings about the future of local medical services known. However, the consultation document includes a number of meaningless questions and some Camden GPs have suggested alternative ones that you might like to answer and send to NHS Camden (see Just say no leaflet and questions and "THE QUESTIONS THEY DON'T DARE ASK US.pdf"). 

The consultation document is obtainable from NHS Camden (tel. 020 3317 2884 or 2887, or online at http://www.camden.nhs.uk/downloads/Primary%20and%20urgent%20care%20strategy%20-%20EASY%20PRINT.pdf. 
The consultation questionnaire on its own is at http://www.camden.nhs.uk/downloads/Primary%20and%20urgent%20care%20strategy%20questionnaire%20-%20EASY%20PRINT.pdf.
We suggest that you should answer NO to question no. 8 of this consultation document. You can obtain the questionnaire online too (see https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OH%2b6M%2fN8twY0BDtAuIOKRw%3d%3d): if you do so we suggest that you answer NO to question no. 3 in section 5 (Developing community services). 

The Somers Town meeting on 16 July called on NHS Camden to immediately put a halt to the private tendering for a new GP-led health centre in Hampstead Road. Frank Dobson agreed to raise this straight away with NHS Camden. It makes a mockery of the consultation that has just started that NHS Camden appears to be about to choose who will run the new centre before consulting over where it should be placed or whether people really want it.

10 June 2009
It was standing room only in the Dick Collins hall as around 120 mainly local residents turned up to find out about plans for a mega health centre in Hampstead Road. The meeting pledged to oppose any threat to introduce private companies to run our GP services. All present also demanded that the money planned for a so called "GP-led health centre" should be spent on improving local GPs' surgeries instead. See the report in the Camden New Journal here:
http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/2009/061109/news061109_06.html.
See also the Letters section of this issue of the CNJ (11 June 2009) for the Forum article by retired GP Robert McGibbon and a letter headed "What chance for GPs in bidding?". Photos of the event are at www.flickr.com/photos/sarahmills178/.

17 March 2009 
A programme on Radio Four entitled Supersize Surgeries presented arguments for and against polyclinics and similar medical centres.

Distributing information at South End Green, NW3, 24 January 2009, with help from Katharine Whitehorn and others.

Protest at Whittington Hospital, 8 July 2008, before lecture by Dr Richard Smith, UnitedHealth Primary Care -- the company that now runs three general practices in Camden Town.

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Meetings of the group are held every two to three weeks, usually at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings and whenever possible at Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, WC1. See Events for details of these and other relevant meetings. 

When appropriate the group sends a deputation to the Health Scrutiny Committee of Camden Borough Council. Webcasts of these meetings can be found at http://www.camden.ukcouncil.net/site/ 

Camden KONP is affiliated to the national campaign Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) (www.keepournhspublic.com). KONP has a Facebook site that you can join: 
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=40921988278&ref=ts

Front page of issue 3 of Keep Our NHS Public's newspaper.

See the News Roundup page (http://www.keepournhspublic.com/newsroundup.php) on the KONP website to keep up to date with reports of interest to our campaigns.

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For forthcoming and past activities and achievements see list of events (Events)

See also a brief history of Camden KONP (Background story)

To become a member or supporter of the campaign group, see How to support Camden KONP 

For useful links to other organisations and to relevant publications, reports and radio programmes see Links