09/01/2015 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

Nancy Platts, Labour parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven has asked Penny Thompson, CEO of Brighton and Hove City Council for an update from the Health and Wellbeing Board about the future of Eaton Place GP surgery.

Nancy Platts: Labour parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven

NANCY led a delegation of Eaton Place surgery patients at the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on December 9, to call for the Board to ‘Replace Eaton Place’, after 5,500 patients were to be left without a local GP when the current doctors retire from the practice in February 2015.

Penny Thompson provided an immediate response to say that there have been ongoing discussions between the Clinical Commissioning (CCG) Group, NHS England, the Eaton Place Surgery doctors and neighbouring doctors.

Whilst the discussions have not been finalised, she said that a number of options are on the table which could include a future branch surgery of a different practice at the current practice premises or nearby. An update on progress will go to the next Health and Wellbeing Board on February 3, at Hove Town Hall.

Nancy said: “It is welcome news that there is now a glimmer of hope Eaton Place surgery will be replaced and this is a success for the joint Labour Party and community campaign, but I remain concerned that the timescale for the decision is very tight.

“Right now, we still have thousands of people looking for a new GP but we could be in a situation where thousands of patients re-register with another doctor miles away only to find that they could have stayed where they are. I would ask NHS England and the Health and Wellbeing Board to treat this matter with a greater sense of urgency so that local people do not suffer any further anxiety or inconvenience.”

“If Eaton Place GP surgery is not replaced, it could impact on Accident and Emergency at the Royal Sussex and this must form part of the considerations. We have heard loud and clear from a local A&E consultant that this government’s cuts are damaging our NHS and staff are already being placed under too much pressure as a result. We cannot take the risk that thousands of displaced patients will end up going to A&E from February because they have not been able to find a nearby GP.”

The Council of Ex Muslims of Britain (CEMB) has announced a one day conference in February examining the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo assassination and remembering the many others persecuted for criticising Islam and religion.

SHARIA LAW, APOSTASY AND SECULARISM will take place on February 7, 2015 near Kings Cross in London.

The programme will include discussions on Charlie Hebdo and freedom of expression, apostasy and blasphemy laws, Islamism and the religious-Right, Sharia in the Law, the Educational System and Public Policy, as well as Secularism and Citizenship Rights.

The conference will also discuss successful campaigns against the Law Society and Universities UK, and how the fight for equal rights, the end to discrimination against ex-Muslims, and the right to free expression are crucial in the fight against Islamism and the religious-Right, and for promoting a secular society.

Speakers will include Activist Ahmed Idris, Campaigner for Secular Education, Aliyah Saleem, Spokesperson for CEMB, and Secular Activist Chris Moos, Director of the Centre for Secular Space.

Ticket prices are £15 for unwaged, £20 for waged, and £25 for organisations.

For further information, draft agenda and full speaker biographies, click here: