DID you know that our NHS staff will be forced into wearing new GCS logo uniforms following their takeover from the NHS at our community hospitals on October 1? That's a clear message that our community hospitals are no longer NHS hospitals.

We've still yet to hear a clear message on whether the new body will have to spend part of its health budget on VAT for everything it buys; in the NHS that equates to a 20 per cent reduction in services.

I am told that there are some 3,000 staff across Lydney, the Dilke, Stroud and six other sites. Let's take a guess that only two in three of those staff are uniformed. But as each member of staff is entitled to two uniforms for obvious reasons, this means that (using the web for an average price from a NHS contracted supplier of £12 and assuming a bulk buy would counter the cost of the customisation of the logo) we can expect just the uniforms alone to bite another £48,000 out of what could have been spent on two nurses for a year at the average salary.

It was the board of the Gloucestershire NHS PCT who decided to outsource our nine community hospitals and 20 different services in December 2010. Write to them today to halt this risky and undemocratic transfer of our NHS services immediately at NHS Gloucestershire, Sanger House, 5220 Valiant Court, Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, Gloucester, GL3 4FE. Demand a halt today and insist on a public information campaign and debate. We'll only lose these services once.

As for GSC, their website states "From time to time, we will consult with the public on major changes to our services...please note, there are no active consultations at the moment." If what happens on October 1 doesn't constitute a major change to local NHS services and the role of GSC then I don't know what possibly could.

They are at least hosting a meeting of kinds, but that's for those who have pre-booked a place as a colleague stakeholder of GSC. This is at the Main Place in Coleford  on Saturday September 17 from 2pm. I strongly suggest you get along and make GSC aware of our discontent before it is too late. Demand a delay if you can get inside to the meeting. And if you can't, make a lot of noise to let them know we won't let them take away our NHS services without a fight.

– Carl Spiby, St Briavels.