Public meeting in East Ham will discuss threats to NHS

A public meeting will be held at East Ham Town Hall on October 30 to discuss threats to the NHS.

It has been called by Newham Save our NHS and will be joined by East Ham MP Stephen Timms and Dr John Lister of London Health Emergency as well as speakers from Whipps Cross and GPs from the area.

Newham Save Our NHS is a group of residents, doctors and other NHS staff who are concerned about threats to the NHS.

They believe the government’s policies have forced Barts Health NHS Trust into debt and that local services will disappear or worsen as vacancies are left unfilled and jobs lost.

Dr Ron Singer, retired GP and an organiser of the meeting said: “We know that the new hospital in Whitechapel will cost more than £129 million a year and that the biggest trust in the UK, Barts Health, is already in debt to the tune of £78 million. All this money will have to come from an already decreasing health budget for Newham, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets. This is a very difficult and serious situation for all residents and staff.”

The East Ham meeting, which will start at 7.30pm, at East Ham Town Hall in High Street South, will also be addressed by staff from Whipps Cross where there have already been a number of protests and demonstrations and local GPs. Newham Clinical Commissioning Group have been asked to send a speaker.