r'urtermore. me recenuy punt nvuro therapy pool at Sanderson would be left unused, whilst the pool at Freeman Road is not really suitable for children. Moreover, considerable expense would be incurred by visitors travelling to Freeman Road. Finally, educational facilities at rceman Koad wowd De way DcIow nose asanderson This situation facing sick children in Newcastle, where both medical and educational facilities will decline, is the resurt or the compete lack or planning inside the NHS and lack of control ov une working cass Until reorganisation of the NHS in 1973. educational facilities were the responsibility of the hospital services. With reorganisation they hecame the responsibility of the I.I:A. However. construction of Freeman Road started before reorganisation. No educational facilities were provided and even the bureaucrats of the A were not consulted. Now the AllA is trying to pass the buck onto the LA In most of the Arca's hospitals there is huge understaffing in the maintenance department. When lifts, machinery, ete. break down. outside contractors have to be called in. This not only means long delays but also cuts the budget of the hospitals.
In this situation it is no wonder that an average of 130 nurses leave the AlIA every month. Yet the AHA still claims that it is overstaffed. Hence it has made moves to reauce une nursina start even further. At the end of last year six nurses at the Royal Victoria Infirmary were asked to resign. The Confederation of Health Service Employees claims that this was because of lack of moncy in the AHA.
The present state of the NHS must be ol great concern to all working class people. But the only way to defeat the pians orme ana to chop me so o closures, transfers and redundancies is for the working class to demand access to all secret plans of the AHA and to fight for an enquiry by the labour