Lambeth: Strike to Stop Tory Murderers

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Wing the Hounslow Hospital occupation as been problem of how to stop the cuts council and stem the Tory offensive. ucing a Embarassed and angered at ess; and the fact that the AHA-itself a Cuts people, and old!

Despite the waffle and empty ranting of union officials bout the Tory government's iledgehammer attacks on the nealth service, this blunt fact emerged loud and clear last Neek.

The Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority finally declared that enough was enough'. Medical experts declared that to impose he Tories' £5.5 million cuts n their budget would kill off lozens of patients. The AHA efused to do it.

With the total support of very. doctor present it voted overwhelmingly against the weeping cutbacks which would se required to achieve the Tory target.

Among the deparments that vould be hit are radiotherapy crucial to cancer patients), heart surgery including the itting of life-saving pacenakers), gynaecology, ortho›aedic surgery and renal dialysis which provides vital life-support for kidney patients).

Closed down

On top of this, 300 acute beds, entire wards and whole hospitals would have to be closed down to make up the immediate saving demanded by Tory minister Patrick Jenkin.

Prime targets for closure are Sydenham Children's Hospital St. Giles' Hospital in Camberwell and St. John's in Lewisham.

Opponents of the cuts on the AHA have stated that they could provide names and addresses of at least 204 known patients whose lives would be immediately placed at risk by the cuts in this one area alone.

But despite the 'special case" arguments peddled by the AHA, these kinds of cutbacks are not exclusive to the London area, The Lambeth AHA's problems are certainly made more dramatic by its need to finance three world-class teaching hospitals (Guy's, King's and St. Thomas's), and medical opposition to the cuts, has gained strength from top consultants whose departments are immediately at risk.

Ruthless

But the Tory axe is crashing ruthlessly into the National Health Service in every town and region in the country.

And in most cases the NHS nas been already reeling from the savage cuts and cash limits mposed by Callaghan's reactionary Labour government.

The very survival of the National Health Service, a historic gain for the working slass, is now at stake.

Thousands of working class nen, women and children stand to suffer possibly irreparable injury and illness and hund more will die if Thatcl government is allowed proceed with its policy wanton vandalism and dest tion, For the Tories the criterion is boosting the pri of private industry and cut the taxes paid by top mana They have no interest in health and welfare of the w ing class.

Local authorities This is why not only health service, but every as of public spending is under most ruthless attack.

Local authority cuts slash basic social services the young, the sick and Nur:

Ireds her's to of truconly ofits iting gers.

the orkthe pect the will for the sing care provided dur old; council housing h axed, and existing housing sold off-prod growing toll of homel education, too, faces a c ing attack.

No section of the pol is safe from this allen Tory attack: former traitor Reg Prentice, no Minister for the shocked even the most headed liberals recen bluntly warning the National Institute for ti that the handicapped n to suffer the full brunt cuts!

But if the Lambeth t has focussed attention real effect of the cL AHA's conscienci gesture offers no solutio devastat- totally pulation abracing iw Tory Disabled woolly tly by Royal he Blind vill have t of the defiance sts, the e-salving in to the PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL unrepresentative, appointed body originally set up Tory Minister Sir Keith Joseph to give the illusion of democracy to the NHS-refused to act on this rare occasion as an obedient puppet, Jenkin has simply replaced them with equally unrepresentative nominees from the Regional Health Authority.

No call Labour lefts' such as Lambeth council leader Ted Knight continue to splutter about resisting the cuts on the RHA; but there has been no Strike Branch me meetings of hi be called in adopt a firm action and prevent the ci of existing provision in th Trade un must be eler access to the a of the AHAs extent of the l and the colos made from tr monopolies, k suppliers.

The ,demar that union of never at any p prevent the c London mee service stewar coordinated industrial actic dismembermen clear call from Labour or trade union leaders in the area for action by the workers" movement to resist the cuts.

Mass meetings

While trade unionists in hospitals in the neighbouring Westminster AHA have been holding series of mass meetings to organise action to prevent the cuts and forming hospital defence committees (see pages 10-11), there has until now been no such initiative from Labour or union leaders in Lambeth.

Only since Jenkin's move to override the AHA have COHSE stewards in the area come forward and declared a policy of non-cooperation with the new appointees and opposition to the cuts.

And NUPE spokesman Bernard Dix has simply endorsed the AHA's stand, offering no lead for NUPE members in this key struggle.

The task is now to make Lambeth the national focus for a full scale struggle against the Meetings and mass ealth unions must every hospital to policy of strike occupation to utback or closure health service e area. ion committees cted to demand iccounts and plans to reveal the full planned cutbacks, isal profits being le NHS by drug panks and other And must go out ficials who have oint led action to uts, call an allting of health ds to prepare a programme of on to prevent the it of the health Prentice-no aid for the blin service.

And in every other area of the country, where essential services are equally on the point of collapse, public sector workers must demand local and national officials take up a similar policy.

Public sector and other unions at local level must establish the closest working relations and seek to unite the broadest possible united fight by the labour movement against the cuts through the establishment of councils of action comprising delegates from all public and private sector unions, local Labour Parties, claimants' organisations and other working class bodies.

Keverse cuts

With such bodies the fight can be taken up for the spreading of specific struggles against the cuts and for the adoption of policies designed to combat union officials collaboration with the cuts.

Indeed the only policy capable of preserving the public services-a reversal of the cuts and a sliding scale of state spending to compensate fully for inflation-clashes with the requirements of British capitalism and is clearly unachievable under either the Tory government or under Callaghan.

It requires a mass struggle to bring down the Thatcher gang, and a determined political fight throughout the trade union and Labour movement for the exposure and removal of the existing right wing and fake left' leadership, and the construction of a revolutionary party committed to the fight for a planned socialist economy.

Join us in this fight.

*Strike and occupy the cuts!

*Open the books of the AHAs and local authorities to elected trade union committees!

*For a sliding scale of public spending!

*Build councils of action! For a united struggle to defeat the Tories!

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