Thread by @JujuliaGrace

It’s v interesting. During the pandemic, I got to know a lot of politicians pretty well, because EveryDoctor brought information from NHS frontline doctors to MPs every single week, which they weren’t hearing anywhere else. 104 MPs signed up to our #ProtectNHSworkers campaign. …

…many would check in with us regularly. I had their numbers, I’d link them up with senior doctors in their area who could tell them what was happening. Many were deeply concerned. We helped them to carry out research, or ask ministers questions, or lobby for particular things…

…that they were concerned were affecting their constituents.

And then as we emerged from the pandemic, we took the government to court (along with Good Law Project) and proved the existence of the VIP PPE lane. And we ran #ScrapNHSBill, the huge campaign to try and stop…

…the government pushing through yet another reform which has fragmented the NHS in England further, interfered with its architecture at a time when it should be being invested in, staff supported well, rebuilt after the biggest public health crisis since the NHS’s inception. …

…we tried to help MPs and peers set up an APPG against NHS privatisation. I had many phone calls with politicians explaining the dangers of privatisation, the damage being wrought by incremental ‘reforms’ which are allowing more and more privatisation to infiltrate our public…

…healthcare system.

We were attacked last week.

And when we’re attacked, I sometimes question myself. I ask if I’ve got it wrong. I do a lot of soul-searching, and I reflect on what we’re doing, where we’re going, what we’re about.

I’ve done that now.

…

…I’m not sure that anyone else in the UK has attempted as many times as I have to engage with our current cohort of politicians about supporting NHS staff, protecting patients, and rebuilding the NHS. It has been my sole focus since these MPs were elected.

And here’s what…

…I know.

My view. No one else’s. I won’t be justifying this view. It’s a statement.

1. None of the MPs who painstakingly engaged with the frontline doctors in my network at an incredibly vulnerable time for NHS staff have yet showed up on our map.
2. If MPs support the NHS…

…, it’s not enough to just say that. They should be engaging in campaigns and running their own; lobbying for the NHS to return to full public ownership.

Nothing other than that displays support for the service, the staff or the patients.

I don’t care how many openings you…

…attend, how many staff you smile with, how many gushing statements of support you issue.

The NHS is being privatised. Staff are being treated terribly. Patients are dying because of political decisions.

There’s no middle ground. You’re either against NHS privatisation, or…

…against the NHS.