Wake up people of the Forest!

It's not only our forest, our libraries, and our youth

clubs, but the Government is also attacking our local

hospitals and district nurse service too.

They are demanding that these services move out of

the NHS and become a private business by April this year.

This means the hospitals and nurses will

immediately become vul­ner­able because if this business

fails they will not be bailed out by the NHS and we will be

left without these services.

This business will also have to face a competitive

tendering auction in three years time when the service

could be taken over by a cheaper, possibly foreign, outfit

that would certainly drive down the pay and conditions of

the nurses and ultimately lead to a reduced level of

service.

I would urge people who are considering giving

money to the Friends of Lydney or the Dilke Hospital to

think again. Any equipment brought by these charities in

the future will be going to private hospitals and is this

what you want?

Please write to Mark Harper to complain that he

didn't have the guts to tell us all this before the elections.

This isn't about cuts, it's about his belief that public

is bad and private is good. ­

– Pete Stanway (by email).