NHS Begins To Fall Apart.

31 Health Trusts are considering breaking away from the national pay structure in order to cope with the financial strangulation of the NHS by the Tories. In the South-West hospital staff are seeing their pay cut, annual leave reduced and sickness benefits pared back in order to "safeguard" the jobs of 6,000 workers while North Tees and Hartlepool NHS foundation trust plans to sack more than 5,000 staff next year and rehire them on reduced terms and conditions. Meanwhile the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust is withdrawing a cost-of-living allowance and Christmas payments from staff. None of these things are being considered from the point of view of making the NHS more efficient and it is clear that these reductions in pay and conditions are simply a means of making our hospitals even more attractive for the fatcat health companies waiting to pounce once their tame Tory co-conspirators give the green light. How the future will look can be seen at the above mentioned Oxford Hospital Trust where the Chief Executive, Sir Jonathan Michael, has already awarded himself an increase of his own salary to £189,000. The Tories, while tightening their grip around the throat of the NHS, are trying to pretend that Health Trusts are moving toward local pay awards because they "are frustrated that no national agreements have been reached on proposals that NHS Employers has put forward to ensure Agenda for Change remains affordable and fit for purpose." In other words they are trying to lay the blame on hospital staff and diverting attention away from their cynical manipulation of hospital budgets in order to soften them up for privatisation. Whichever you cut it, however, the Tories have lied about their intentions and accepted bribes from healthcare companies to sell off assets that do not belong to them. By any definition this is fraud and maleficence on an epic scale.