This hospital provides much needed bed space to help with bed blocking at Bournemouth and Poole Hospitals, it costs a lot less to keep a patient here than in a main hospital. Our community hospital has served the local area for decades, it was donated to the local community by the Americans at the end of WW2. It has provided rehabilitation treatment for hundreds to get back to their homes quicker than a longer stay in our main hospitals and so releasing hospital beds for more needy patients. This hospital is essential for stroke victims and other patients alike providing convalescent stay and clears vital beds in Poole and Bournemouth hospitals. My dear friend ( 93 years young) is in St Leonards Hospital at this moment and she totally amazed by the caring more personal treatment she is receiving, she was very sceptical of going in but is now loving it she burst into floods of tears when she heard of it's future. Closure of this hospital would be a disaster for the local community which in this part of Dorset is predominantly elderly who cannot protest themselves. We must not let this happen.

To allow the safe passage of innocent men, women and children out of Aleppo, cease the slaughter of innocent civilians and medical staff and allow crucial supplies to these beleaguered people. There are over 60 million refugees globally, people displaced by war and under constant and brutal attack. In my trips to the Jungle in Calais ( France) I met and heard some of the harrowing stories of many innocent and decent people and marvelled at some incredible feats of bravery. All of these stories affected me deeply, especially those concerning the children - hundreds of unaccompanied minors. We all deserve the right to a safe home. The number of displaced and traumatised individuals worldwide is a disgrace and Aleppo is rapidly adding to an already unmanageable crisis. I like many millions of others, want this to stop.

The company that runs the cleaning, catering, security services at Homeron Hospital announced in July that they plan to cut hours and posts for some staff. Initially we were told this could mean up to 89 redundancies but ISS have since stated that the number will be much less than this. Nevertheless, it is clear that ISS are looking to reduce hours and some positions. Our first concern is about patient safety. Where staff are already stretched trying to complete the work they need to do, we believe that the impact of staff working shorter hours or having fewer staff working in the hospital will be that the vital work that our cleaners, caterers and security staff do cannot be completed effectively. We are also concerned about the impact on staff. ISS staff have told us that they are worried about what cuts in pay will do to themselves and their families. This is a very low paid group of workers. They are also concerned about the impact on the health of staff left covering increased workloads. But above all, ISS staff have pointed out that their role is about saving lives. They get job satisfaction from working for patients and are very committed to the Homerton Hospital and are therefore extremely concerned about what this will do to the service they can provide. Protect our patients, protect our NHS, no reduction in hours or posts. The current threat to hours and posts and the lack of information provided to staff does little to support either promise. Patient care should be our priority and staff are willing to discuss how workloads are organised. But cuts in hours overall and loss of posts will not support better patient care.

Health Education England (HEE) is currently consulting on proposals which will see massive job losses among staff responsible for the recruitment and training of new doctors and dentists for London and the South East, while at the same time introducing new data systems and ways of working without trialling them first. Currently 180 staff oversee the recruitment and training of thousands of junior doctors and dentists every year. Under the new plans, there will be just 111 staff to do the same work AND take on new business in two areas they have no experience of. This is a 41% head count cut coming at the same time as a massively increased workload, proposed to be implemented by March 2017. Furthermore, this is just the start – this cut is just in one region, but similar cuts are currently being planned in other HEE regions of the country. We believe this represents a denigration of the service for trainee doctors and dentists, and as a consequence a real threat to the NHS and to patient safety. At a time when recruitment of doctors is already suffering due to the government’s health policies, the last thing we need is to undermine it further. These cuts should be stopped completely until the new systems and working patterns have been tested so that informed proposals for safe staffing levels can be made. According to Professor Allyson Pollock: ‘The Health and Social Care Act abolished the NHS and it is now being dismantled through budget cuts and services closures. There is no longer a duty on the Sec of State to provide key services throughout England and many areas will soon find they have decreased and limited access to NHS services and care as hospitals and services close and are sold off. Budgetary cuts are also decimating the organisations such as HEE which is responsible for recruiting and training staff including junior doctors. The destruction of the NHS is continuing apace and only legislation can stop it’.

The use of glyphosates has already been banned or restricted in 8 countries. It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals whether we like it or not. This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other's health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees. If you don't live in this area, click here to sign or start the campaign for your city: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-a-pesticide-campaign

The use of glyphosates has already been banned or restricted in 8 countries. It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals whether we like it or not. This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other's health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees. If you don't live in this area, click here to sign or start the campaign for your city: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-a-pesticide-campaign

The first hour of a patient who has had a stroke is vital and the following days essential when looking at their recovery. If there is a delay in treatment then the outcome can be detrimental to a patients recovery. It is hard enough for a patient and their relatives at such a time but to have them many miles away and could face a long journey to visit their relative puts extra stress on the whole family. Keep services local for best patient outcome.

Devon healthcare is being placed under special measures, to cut a predicted financial shortfall of £440m by 2020. Government identifies the position as an overspend. Special measures for reducing this overspend, drawn up in guidelines titled the Success Regime, are set to re-configure services at many Devon hospitals. North Devon District Hospital, in Barnstaple, is the largest in North Devon, currently with elective and acute services. The Success Regime does not rule out that Acute services of A&E, Maternity, Stroke, and Paediatrics could disappear. Senior figures in the local healthcare system have said it is extremely unlikely that these services would be withdrawn but at the same time we have been told that "there are no red lines" meaning that anything could happen. NHSEngland is trying to push changes through as fast as possible. If these services are lost, local people would have to travel to Exeter or Plymouth for treatment. For very many these hospitals are over an hour or more away; very serious complications and deaths could and would occur. Even if acute services are maintained, despite plans to increase care at home, other services will doubtless also be affected meaning unacceptable wait and travel times for routine surgery such as hip and knee replacement Cross-party Campaigners against such closures read the situation as underfunding rather than overspending and are protesting the loss of services vitally important to the region. Because of its rural nature Devon is suffering more than most, but cuts like these are taking place across the country. We want Government to re-think their health care strategy which at present is far from clear and transparent, with NHS England taking funding from budgets for public health, education and training, capital spend and national bodies such as NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). Spending in these areas is being cut by more than £3 billion over the next five years with very little information on how this decrease in spending will be managed. Rather than cutting vital services and thereby opening the door for privatized health care, the government should be having free and frank discussion about increasing funding for healthcare to include such measures as an hypothecated healthcare tax, more efficient tax collection, compulsory insurance contributions and taxes on harmful products like tobacco and sugar. A Protest DEMONSTRATION, drawing a RED LINE around our hospital services, will be held 23 August. Meet at Pilton Park 10.00am or outside Barnstaple Hospital 10.30-12.30pm. Please come along. Wear red, bring red ribbon. For more information www.sohs.co.uk

The use of glyphosates has already been banned or restricted in 8 countries. It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals whether we like it or not. This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other's health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees. If you don't live in this area, click here to start a campaign for your city: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-a-pesticide-campaign

A generation of Haemophiliacs were infected with HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C through contaminated blood products (Factor 8 & 9) on the NHS throughout the early 1980's. People with haemophilia can bleed into the joint space after an injury or, at times, without obvious cause. The pressure of blood filling the joint cavity causes significant pain and can lead to chronic swelling and deformity. This is a condition which can, at best, be delayed, but invariably leads to chronic Arthritis. Unlike modern clotting agents the Factors given to this generation weren't as effective as they are now and it's very rare to find a patient who hasn't suffered lasting multiple joint damage. In recognition of this many were awarded higher lifetime rates of Attendance Allowance and or Mobility Allowance (now combined into DLA). This has allowed many to live a much more productive and full life than they otherwise could. DLA is currently being replaced by Personal Independence Payment. This requires anyone in receipt of DLA, regardless of term awarded, to undergo an assessment which ranges from highly stressful to traumatic. Given that most surviving Haemophiliacs from this group have already been left traumatised by the multiple infections given to them many are viewing this assessment with much trepidation and concern. Some Haemophiliacs have surrendered the benefit rather than have to go through it. The Scottish Parliament has taken steps to alleviate the financial concerns of this group, well above the lamentable efforts by the UK parliament and should be applauded for their compassion and understanding. It would greatly help the survivors further if they were made exempt from this humiliating process.

Stepping Hill serves a large geographical area in Greater Manchester. It has been chosen as one of the specialist hospitals in Greater Manchester as a result of the Healthier Together reforms that were intended to improve patient care and save lives. The loss of jobs and beds at the hospital can only have the opposite effect. We want Ann Barnes to tell the people of Stockport and the surrounding area why, without consultation, the board have taken the decision to immediately and permanently close the surgical ward B3, to temporarily close 8 trauma and orthopaedic beds from October and to make 400 people redundant. This came as a shock to everyone. We want this decision reversed. We are aware that these are cost-cutting measures forced by a deficit estimated to be £40 million. This is an entirely predictable result of a policy of progressive under-funding of the NHS that began in 2010. We now spend 25% less of our GDP on healthcare compared with the European average and more pressure has been placed on all hospitals including Stepping Hill as a result of reductions in social care funding. We therefore also call on Jeremy Hunt as Secretary of State for Health to change the austerity policy of under-funding of the NHS, to increase spending to provide a publically run service, free at the point of need. The people of Stockport and the surrounding area own Stepping Hill Hospital and it must survive.

Wakefield Council is now responsible for ‘Public Health’ in the district. It contracts with NHS providers like the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust and South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Trust (SWYPFT) to deliver services such as Health Visiting. At the end of July it told SWYPFT it wants them to stop running the Health Trainer Service, the Community Food & Health service and part of the Safe at Home (domestic violence) service by 30th September. The jobs of around 40 NHS staff will go. We know that the Government is cutting the money it gives to local Councils for these services but this decision has been taken without proper consultation with the health professionals (such as GPs) who refer people to the services, the people who provide them, or the public who use them. The service was recently rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission and no discussions have taken place about how the cost of the services might be reduced or about winding down the service (people are still be referred to groups that should run until after the service is due to close).