Unison Stages 24-hour Strike Against Health Cuts

“Enough is enough” says Unison as it rolls out a 24-hour strike. Back in April 2011 the health union Unison said it would ballot its Northern Ireland members on strike action after the release of the McKinsey Report on the health service in an attempt to protect services for now and in the future. This report made by a global consultancy produced some radical and bold statements about how government can turn what some are describing as an insolvent health situation into a more sustainable health system model. The publication of this consultancy report into the NI health service has caused an angry reaction from health service union Unison who maintain, if implemented, these recommendations could cost 10,000 jobs across the health service in Northern Ireland. Now Unison has followed through its call for strike action and will run a 24-hour strike on Wednesday 5^th October. They are at a total divergence with the (Northern Ireland) Health and Social Care Board and believe the proposals could affect future generations and lead to a total loss of some services. [caption id="attachment_30315" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Unison members pictured at a meeting in the Downshire's Great Hall earlier this year. Included are Marion Ritchie, Peter McKenna, Gerry Murphy, Sonia Graham and Grainne Taggart"][/caption] The McKinsey report suggests how the service can save money. At the moment an estimated £300-600 million may be needed to prop up the haemmoraging health service. The report has called for charges across the board for treatment. However, Unison has described this as  “the greatest attack on our health and social system since it was founded 63 years ago”. Unison organizer Ms Patricia McKeown said, “We are standing up for our public services and public service workers.” Today a picket outside the Downe Hospital expresses the Unions complete opposition to the McKinsey Report and all that it represents. Basically, the report, which was commissioned by the Health and Social Care Board, indicates that the health system unless it takes some radical measures, will run out of funds. McKinsey is a global and much respected consultancy, and has put forward a recommendation of what needs to happen to balance the books. Firstly, the Northern Ireland hospital system needs to scale down with secondly, it should run with less hospitals and use medical hubs with integrated medical teams says the report. However, McKinsey’s radical proposals include a co-payment system that essentially means we pay a fee for treatment. This means that an A&E visit could cost £40, attending a GP £15, a hospital inpatient charge of £15, with x-rays and scans with a minimum charge of £40. Unison is deeply concerned that waiting times will increase dramatically, services will be cut across the board, and charges will be levied for services. These concerns are compounded by the hard facts that Northern Ireland is already lagging behind the rest of the UK in the table of life chances and health opportunities. *  In Northern Ireland, 17% of people are over 65 years old… an ageing population. *  There is a greater demand on the health system for drink and drug related health problems. *  There is also a trend where some medical technologies such as scanning has made treatment easier to access. * And there is the issue of an increased expectation of health care delivery by the population. These are issues that McKinsey has factored in to the report. But the breadth and depth of discontent if the McKinsey recommendations are implemented will be something that we have not seen in generations. It has been 30 years since Unison called such a strike. The Lib Dem/Tory Coalition at Westminster has come under serious fire because of this report and possibly this is only the beginning of a long drawn out battle between an ideologically driven government and more egalitarian stakeholders of the health service. It could all lead to an all too familiar scenario reminiscent of 1789… a call for ”off with their heads!”]]>