[IN ACTION TO Following the proposals for a…]

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IN ACTION TO Following the proposals for a massive series of cuts to the health service in the Westminster area of London, hospital workers have taken steps to defend threatened hospitals and wards.

At a mass meeting at St.

Mary's Hospital, Harrow Rd., which is on the list for almost complete closure workers voted unanimously to oppose the closure, and pledged to continue working in all threatened wards and departments, not accepting jobs elsewhere.

Strength

Other hospitals in the area followed suit during last week, and similar meetings are planned in threatened hospitals throughout the Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster AHA throughout the coming week.

The growing strength of the opposition to cuts and closures in the area was demonstrated at a lobby of a meeting of the AHA on Wednesday 11 July, where the implementation of the proposed cuts was to be finalised.

Even though the AHA decided at the last minute to take the item on cuts off the agenda, between 150 and 200 workers turned up to the lobby.

The lobbyers were mainly from St. Mary's Hospital, Harrow Road, and contained a large cross section of Hospital staff, including doctors and a large number of nurses.

Hostility

The size and militancy of the lobby showed the absolute hostility to any further cuts in the area, and frequently took up the chant of "Occupy St.

Mary's! No more cuts!"

Despite the scale of opposition, the AHA are still determined to go through with their programme of cuts, which include the virtual closure of Harrow Road and St. Columba's hospitals, and closure of wards in virtually every hospital in the area.

The final implementation of the cuts has been deferred to two meetings-an emergency meeting of the AHA on 21 July and a meeting of the NW Thames Regional Health Authority on 23 July.

This is the area that is likely to see the first major battles against the Tory cuts.

Isolated

Despite the strength of opposition in hospitals so far, an obvious weakness has been the failure to force the trade union leadership to give a strong lead in fighting the cuts.

Isolated occupations are in great danger of being picked off individually by authoritiés, given confidence by the anti-union mood of the Tory government.

Victimisations of individual militants are on the cards.

Resolutions from all threatened hospitals must force the leadership of the London labour movement to organise an allLondon conference of health service delegates and prepare a programme of all-out strike action to defend the London National Health Service. NEWS PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL