Because they are the sole of the nhs and it wouldn't function without them

There is currently an estimated £6 billion deficit each year in providing the necessary funding - this means that over 100,000 families are facing financial ruin, adding to the acute misery of seeing their relatives slowly decline. This problem was recognised some 10 years ago, and the Dilnot Commission reported in 2011 with recommendations that were accepted by the Coalition Government in 2013. The Conservative Party, in their 2015 election manifesto, pledged to implement starting in 2016, only for the present Government to renege on its promise within 3 months of taking office. The key points in this commitment were: · A cap on the patient's financial liability for care costs set at £72,000 · The level of assets, below which patients are no longer liable to pay, raised from £23,250 to £118,000 · By 2024, up to 100,000 more to receive financial help with their care costs The BBC Today programme ran a number of features during the week of February 6th, illustrating how the current policy is having drastic effects on families, tearing them apart with heartless bureaucracy. I took part in one of these programmes, describing how I had to pay nearly £400,000 for my late wife's care costs over 8 years, repeatedly refused help by NHS Continuing Healthcare over 5 years. I was only one of tens of thousands trapped in the 'No Man's Land' between the NHS and Social Care funding.

From the residents who are signatories to the petition who live in the following wards and who are affected by the rubbish decision of Camden Council which starts in April 2017: Frognal and Fitzjohns, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Belsize, Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town, Highgate and Kilburn Background Camden Council under the guidance of Cllr Merik Apak has decided, in its wisdom, to remove weekly bin collections for most of residents of the wards listed above. Not all roads in those wards are affected but most are. See the Ham and High’s article confirming those affected wards. http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/environment/revealed_the_camden_streets_to_receive_fortnightly_rubbish_collections_1_4842664 If you are not sure if you are affected, you can check your postcode at the link below to see whether you have weekly or bi-weekly collections: Post code checker http://www.veolia.co.uk/london/services/services/north-london/camden/service-change-checker This decision raises a peculiar situation where residents in the same ward with roads which adjoin each other have different rubbish collection dates. The rationale for the decision has been to boost recycling. Camden states that it will still collect recycling and food waste every week. In a letter in the Camden New Journal, Cllr Apak states “for those homes that have been independently assessed to have enough space to store rubbish for two weeks, we will collect their non-recyclable rubbish fortnightly, from April 1 onwards”. Space outside homes have, therefore, been allocated as storage sites for Camden’s waste. If you have the space to store such rubbish, you are chosen. See para 1.4 at the link below: http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/environment/recycling--rubbish-and-reuse/our-new-environment-services-contract/ This decision has nothing to do with the suggestion that residents who do not currently recycle are encouraged to do so. If you live in one of the lucky wards still to receive weekly collections, there is no incentive to recycle – you will still have weekly collections. If you live in one of the unlucky wards, and already recycle - there is no pat on the back – it matters not because you have been selected anyway for 2 weekly collections. Unless you opt out, Camden will now distribute a 240 litre capacity black wheelie bin which you must keep within the boundary of your property. If you already have a large Camden green recycling bin, you now need to add a black one of the same size to your garden. You can opt out of receiving the wheelie bin by 18 Feb. And, the sting in the tail is that if your household rubbish exceeds the size of the new wheelie bin or, if you don’t want one, the 4 Camden orange bags they will give you to put your rubbish in for collection, they won’t take it. Once your orange bags are emptied, you have to put any extra rubbish in them and store for another two weeks or take independently to Camden’s local recycling sites – see para 2.3 of the link above. So Camden is not just moving to 2 weekly collections, they are limiting the amount of rubbish they will take away. So, if you recycle but are a large generator of rubbish – too bad – you have to store it for longer or take it to the dump yourself. What are we paying our Council taxes for?? As part of the same plan, garden waste will now be collected every Saturday as a paid-for, opt-in service. Residents who subscribe to the service will pay £60 for 9 months or £75 for a year – but there is also the option of heading to centres at Hornsey Street or Regis Road to drop off garden waste for free.

Hooria is a 24 year old cerebral palsy patient with learning difficulties and special needs with a history of epilepsy and vision problems. She is wheelchair bound and requires around the clock care. Hooria came to the UK 12 years ago (2007) from Pakistan with her parents, brother and sister who she is emotionally attached to and physically dependent upon. Hooria is originally from Pakistan. Access to healthcare for people with disabilities in Pakistan is very poor. Hooria faced a lot of physical and emotional abuse from healthcare professionals and schools in Pakistan. She had been discriminated due to her disability. She experienced seizures, which were sometimes 3 times a day, but was terrified to go hospital. Due to her complicated health needs, doctors prescribed her medication that showed no improvement in her health and showed no interest in her. Hooria’s family saw a massive deterioration in her health. This changed when Hooria moved to the UK. Throughout the 12 years, Hooria has settled in England where she has: made friends, learned English, been able to access buildings and buses and has started to trust people. Her health has improved tremendously and her epileptic seizures have reduced. She looks forward to going school and her day ahead of her. Hooria and her family have made their own private life and settled down. Her elder sister is married to a British citizen since 2013 and lives with her husband and three children who Hooria adores and loves. Hooria considers this country to be her own home. Therefore, Hooria’s family applied to become permanent citizen in the UK for the welfare of Hooria, however the home office refused this and they are trying to remove the family from the UK and forcing them to return back to Pakistan. Hooria is not willing to go back to Pakistan due to her previous experiences, which have caused her a lot of stress and anxiety. Hooria believes UK is a home for her and her small family. She is stable in the UK, if she were to go back all the hard work her family, health professionals and teachers have put into supporting Hooria will be reversed, as there are no rights for people with disability in Pakistan, who are mostly secluded and seen as a burden in the society. At this present moment Hooria is in a state of shock and makes comments like if she goes back to Pakistan “I will die”, “no one cares there”, “they hate me”. Please support Hooria and her family to remain in this country.

Most people are aware of the pressures the Ambulance Service and the NHS are under. What many may be unaware of is the wideranging variances there are in Bus Lane use between Local Authorities. This makes it confusing, and reliant upon local knowledge, as to whether a Bus Lane may be used or not. Ambulances sitting in queues of traffic while Bus Lanes are free doesn't make much sense, as it delays patients and Ambulances when there is an alternative.

As more and more family struggle to pay for food and clothing the benefit cap will only make thing even harder for family they will be more homeless people because of the benefit cap. family will have to choose between rent or food.

The NHS depends on nurses. Less people training to become nurses = less nurses. (The removal of bursary funding for nursing courses has resulted in a steep drop in people taking the course) 'University applications have fallen by 5% - with the decline driven by a drop in European Union students and a sharp fall in nursing applications.' BBC news 2nd February 2017 The government needs to stop attacking the NHS and start supporting it.

Leaving the EU and having a trade deal with the US means one thing for certain we will be buying foods that have been Genetically modified from the US and we will also be growing GM foods in the UK.Meat from the US like chicken and pork are produced on factory farms,and chlorinated chicken and pork fed with GMO grains.Bad for us it will give us cancer and bad for the environment.Moves are already afoot to grow crops here. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4179870/Genetically-modified-wheat-grown-UK.html http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/15/new-study-links-gmos-to-cancer-liverkidney-damage-severe-hormonal-disruption/ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/09/24/transgenic-wars-gmo.aspx http://www.healthline.com/health-news/does-roundup-cause-cancer Cancer rates in the west are rising,it is said that from 1in 4 now i in 2 people will develop cancer.We are being bombarded with junk foods and added chemical to our foods but also our crops are sprayed with glysophate,a pesticide used on every crop non organically grown.This pesticide causes cancer and should be banned.We do not want GMO foods which are laced with this pesticide and we do not want it to continue to be legal to use this pesticide. Say No to Roundup(glysophate)and say No to genetically modified foods,sign this petition.

The seafront at Prestwick and the roads leading down to it are constantly fouled. This impacts on the whole community and gives a bad name to the majority of dog owners who take responsibility for their animals.

Due to underfunding, Buckinghamshire is ahead when it comes to downgrades to our hospitals. Under STPs (Sustainability and Transformation plans), our cash-strapped local hospitals are set to lose more services and sites could potentially be sold off. Following the recent closure of Ward 5B at Wycombe hospital for 'frail older' people, more of our community hospitals such as Marlow are at risk of losing beds. At a time when the NHS is desperately short of beds and social care is struggling, this would be unacceptable.

Alston is the highest market town in England, and lies 21 miles from any other towns-only 2 of which have a hospital. Alston is over an hour's drive from Carlisle Hospital. ALL 5 roads out of Alston cross high moorland in the North Pennines, and these are frequently closed or rendered treacherous by winter weather between November and March. Ambulances would face a very long, slow and difficult journey to reach a patient and to get them to hospital. Lives will be put at risk. Lives may well be lost if the threat of closure of our Cottage Hospital beds is carried out. Moreover, our absolutely brilliant Doctors Surgery, which depends on the hospital beds to sustain it, could then also eventually close. Where will the 2000-3000 residents of Alston and Alston Moor then go for initial emergency care, to see a doctor, or for other general GP services? There is no bus service to speak of (also cut back). In addition some of the stunning roads in the region produce more than average numbers of road accidents, particularly involving motorbikes and are often very serious. One of our local GPs can be on the scene within minutes--at the moment. If the GP Surgery also has to close, the nearest 'first response' possible will have to travel 21 miles (on notoriously slow windy roads) just to reach the casualty. Do all these lives count for nothing, that we we should lose our hospital beds, our local GPs and an effective emergency response, simply because we live in a beautiful but isolated locality? Why not, indeed, use the beds at Alston (and a small number of other places in Cumbria similarly threatened) as 'OVERSPILL' beds. These beds could be used temporarily by those patients, often elderly, who no longer need to receive medical treatment on the Ward but who need some nursing and monitoring.....whilst they wait for appropriate care to be provided in/by their own community. This would also relieve and 'unblock' several beds in General hospitals for those on the waiting list, and for emergency treatments. Surely this a much more cost-effective way of using our Cottage Hospital beds, rather than simply closing them and leaving a great facility redundant?

There is no public transport to the other surgeries meaning elderly/disabled patients unable to attend unless prepared to pay £14 for a taxi. The other surgeries are already struggling with their list and finding GPs to fill positions. Right now it's 3-4 weeks wait for an appointment there which will only increase when 10,000 patients are added to their lists.