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» Organisations
NHS Organisations
 The NHS Support Federation
'To Protect and Promote the NHS'
The NHS Support Federation brings together members of the public
and health service staff who support a comprehensive, publicly funded system of
healthcare, free to all at the time of need, financed from progressive
taxation, of high quality and publicly accountable. The Federation is not
affiliated to any political party and is funded entirely by donations and
membership fees.
The Federation campaigns for a better NHS
The NHS Support Federation was formed at the end of 1989 at the
height of the Thatcher/Clarke attack on the fundamental principles of the
National Health Service. Made up of almost 200 affiliated organisations, groups
and associations, many thousands of individual members have also joined the
Federation to strengthen and focus defence of the NHS. The Federation now has
over 15,000 members and supporters from all over the UK who value the
principles of our national system of health care based upon availability, high
quality and equity. Many of these are doctors, nurses, paramedics, NHS staff
and management from hospitals and the community along with many members of the
general public. Formed to resist the imposition of market forces and
commercialisation on a service dedicated to health and welfare, the Federation
has provided a vigorous forum at countless meetings around the country, through
the press and TV, with Government ministers and Members of Parliament, with
books, pamphlets, newspaper adverts and poster displays.
The abandonment of the NHS market is the clearest indication of
the rightness of our cause and the Federation can justly claim substantial
credit for its efforts. Cutting the waste of the mountains of paperwork, the
costly transactions, the hundreds of thousands of contracts, and the freeing
for productive work the tens of thousands of people employed to run the market
is a good start. But much more remains to be done to restore our NHS to the
world leader it once was and can be again.
Resources must be found to run a modern, efficient and
compassionate service now and to prepare for a future which is sure to bring
great advances in health care provision. These great challenges cannot and must
not be left just to the politicians and the professionals. The public depend
upon their NHS - and pay for it from their taxes! Their voice must be heard.
This is what the NHS Support Federation is about. Bringing together in one
organisation many different interests - health care staff, patients and carers,
industry, management, health politicians and the vast number of individual
citizens, it can help to rebuild an NHS in which we all have confidence and
pride. New approaches, imaginative development, renovation and innovation are
the watchwords of the Federation. All who share these hopes and ambitions are
urged to join.
Membership of the Federation is open to all. Unlike some other
organisations which claim to speak for the NHS, the Federation has no secret
subsidies or hidden agendas. It depends entirely on the voluntary support of
its members. If you want a hand in reconstructing the 'New NHS', joining the
NHS Support Federation will give you the opportunity to help rebuild it.
Contact: Paul Evans, Director of the Federation
37-39
Great Guildford Street
London
SE1 0ES
Tel: 020 7633 0801 Fax: 020
7633 0343
The United Kingdom Public Health Association
UKPHA
"Through our members, activities and co-operation with others,
to be a unifying and powerful voice for the public's health and well-being in
the UK, focusing on the need to eliminate inequalities in health; and to
promote sustainable development, environmental and social regeneration to
improve health and well-being."
The United Kingdom Public Health Association (UKPHA) is an
independent UK wide voluntary association, bringing together individuals and
organisations from all sectors, who share a commitment to promoting the
public's health. It is a membership based organisation that aims to promote the
development of healthy public policy at all levels of government and across all
sectors, and to support those working in public health either professionally or
in a voluntary capacity.
The UKPHA was launched at the 7th Annual Public Health Forum in
March 1999 following an agreement by the Association for Public Health, the
Public Health Alliance and the Public Health Trust to dissolve themselves and
join together in the new organisation. Their motivation was to strengthen and
unify what has been, until now, a fragmented public health movement in this
country.
Activities
The UKPHA's founder organisations have a track record over the
past eleven years in policy development, producing publications and resources,
and carrying out projects, on a range of public health topics such as poverty
and inequalities, sustainable development, transport, food, housing, water,
primary care, and crime. In addition, they have organised conferences,
workshops, meetings, and seminars in all four countries of the UK. They have
been in regular contact with Ministers, MPs and MEPs and have advocated
successfully for health promoting policies at local, national and European
level.
This work will be continued by the UKPHA, which provides the
administrative secretariat for the All Party Group on Primary Care and Public
Health, jointly with the Royal College of GPs. The UKPHA also provides the
secretariat for the Common Agenda Group of national public health
organisations, a committee which helps to co-ordinate activity at national
level.
Two projects have been 'inherited' from the Public Health
Alliance. The first is the development of a health and low income resources
centre, thanks to grants from the National Lottery Charities Board, the Joseph
Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Webb Memorial Trust. These will enable us to
build support networks, offer practical information to those working in
communities and promote the formulation of policy in this area. The second
project aims to develop a greater understanding of the impact of crime and the
fear of crime on mental health and to promote models of good practice. This
project is part financed by the Department of Health. A resource manual is
being developed for policy makers and practitioners within the health and
criminal justice services. The project is based on two sites - in the West
Midlands and on Tyneside - and will cover both rural and urban areas.
A grant from the National Lottery Charities Board Health and
Social Programme has recently been awarded to the UKPHA to carry out work on
developing public participation and community involvement in primary care. This
work will be carried out in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University.
The Annual Public Health Forum will continue to be a key event for
the UKPHA. This provides a major focus for debate on the public health issues
of the day and, with over 700 participants this year, it has become the leading
public health conference in the UK, open to all professional and lay people
with an interest in promoting health and well-being.
In addition to the Forum, seminars or conferences are being
planned for the coming year on health inequalities, primary care and local
government.
Priorities
During the past few months the UKPHA has been setting up the legal
structures required under Company and Charity Law, and arranging elections for
its first Council which will hold its inaugural meeting in September. The
Council will be configured so as to reflect the national and regional
structures currently being implemented or proposed by Government. In addition
there will be national committees in England, Scotland and Wales and we will
work towards setting up committees in Northern Ireland and the English Regions.
Policy
In terms of policy development the immediate priorities will be
inequalities in health including responding to the Acheson report, developing
the role of local government in public health, promoting the public health role
of primary care groups, and responding to the White Paper on Public Health and
other Government policy initiatives.
Special Interest Groups
Policy development will be assisted by member led special interest
groups (SIGs) that will focus on specific areas of public policy. Members will
be encouraged to join a SIG where they can share experience and information and
contribute UKPHA thinking in their particular area of expertise.
UKPHA News
Updates on the progress in setting up the UKPHA are given in our
quarterly newsletter UKPHA Report. It contains news of UKPHA
activities, general news items and features on public health issues, and
information on publications, resources, and conferences.
138 Digbeth
Birmingham
B5 6DR
Tel: 0121 643 4343/7628
Fax: 0121 643 4541
 The Health Policy Network
The Health Policy Network is funded by the NHS Consultants'
Association and consists of:
- the members of the executive committee of the NHS Consultants'
Association from all over the UK and from a wide range of specialties;
- an invited group of GPs, senior nurses, senior managers of
social services;
- a broad group of public representatives with experience of
Community Health Councils and local government and an experienced agony aunt;
- academic and service specialists in health services management
and new (environmentally sensitive) economics.
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The NHS Consultants' Association
