Minutes_20101025
Minutes of DWHC Meeting 25th October 2010
1. Present
Shirley Franklin, Ian Shacklock, Jem Lindon, Mick Gilgunn, Eamann Devlin,
2. Apologies
Becky Wright, Katy Gold
3. Mins of last Meeting
(20th Sept). 6 people attended last meeting. Main theme was discussion of the public meeting of 16th Sept. Main decision was to write an open letter to Andrew Lansley about the White Paper
4. Public Consultation on the White Paper
On 1st October, we sent a letter to Andrew Lansley, to express objections to the White Paper. It was signed by 20 individuals. Click here to see the final version of this letter. Shirley had received an acknowledgement from a junior officer at DoH and she expressed her disappointment at the nature of the response.
5. Right to Work Demo at Birmingham
The DWHC banner was carried through wind and rain outside the Tory conference.
6. Whittington Meetings
Shirley reported on the Whittington Hospital AGM. Cuts of £500M to £600M are expected.
Shirley and Jem attended a public meeting on 30th Sep. Approx 100 people were present but it was not an open consultation and no speakers were invited from the floor.
7. Other Events
On 20th October, Shirley and Jem carried the DWHC banner at the National Day of Action (TUC) that coincided with the Govt Spending review.
On 14th October, Katy attended the NCL board meeting at St Pancras Conference Centre.
8. Involvement of GPs
Eamann stressed that it was vital that we get GPs involved in challenging the White Paper. Basically it is in their control.
The meeting discussed the need to write an open letter to the local GPs, and a separate later to local politicians (including Jeremy Corbyn, Emily Thornberry, Janet Burgess, Martin Klute)
9. Miscellaneous
Shirley informed the meeting about a recenty compiled U-tube video of the Whittington march. Ian agreed to put this on the website.
Shirley had just been interviewed on LBC radio.
Mental health still a major issue. Shirley is to stand for election as a governor of the Camden and Islington Mental Health trust
Shirley suggested that it would be useful to produce a newsletter. This would require contributions from volunteers.
10. Main Issues
The following 5 issues were singled out as our main areas requiring attention
