At a well-attended borough-wide meeting of health activists in early September, it was agreed by unanimous vote that the two previous health cuts campaigns - Better Local Healthcare and Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition - would work together as a coalition under the name ‘Defend Haringey’s Health Services’. 

Effectively this means that the Stop Haringey Health Cuts Coalition has morphed into the DHHS coalition with the same policies but a new name and seasonal rather than monthly meetings.

Campaigning in borough against GPs moving and against creeping privatisation has been successful, but not as successful as anyone involved in the coalition would like it to be. Activists are spread very thinly and it can be very exhausting when so few are doing so much. But most agree that the campaigning has to continue, and that it would be more effective, coherent and unified if all the campaigns were grouped under an umbrella, pan-Haringey group.

Also present at the September meeting were activists from the Save St Ann's Hospital Campaign and the Laurels Action Group.  The latter were partially successful in a campaign to prevent the privatisation of the management of a local GP practice: in the end the contract was awarded not to a healthcare multinational, but to another GP practice located within the same building.

The next meeting of the coalition will discuss which key issues to focus on over the coming year, and will take place on Monday October 12th, 7.30pm.  For venue details phone Sue on 07970 641 789.