Academic, public health doctor, & leading authority on PFI and the implications of market mechanisms and privatisation of public services.

Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
The leaked white paper for Health and Care in England reveals more privatisation at scale, market deregulation and huge scope for corruption, loss of universality and social solidarity blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/02/11… @JonAshworth @Dr_PhilippaW @JeaneF1MSP @MattHancock
Shortly launching the landmark White Paper on Health and Care in the Commons shortly - to help our health and care system build back better from the pandemic
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
I am heading to the Court of Session in Edinburgh now for a full day hearing on the Scottish judicial review of Palestine Action. It starts at 10.30am. If you can join me please do. If not please watch on livestream here scotcourts.gov.uk/livestream…
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Around 60 % of all hips knees and cataracts are outsourced to private sector. What investigations into conflicts of interest payments and contracts. Meanwhile NHS in-house provision is shrinking and disappearing -private substitutes for public st huge cost @BBCNews @JohnSwinney
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Revolting
Labour’s former deputy leader, who worked tirelessly to sabotage Jeremy Corbyn as leader from within, reveals he’s off to work with Palantir, the most sinister of the military-industrial tech firms. Getting the picture now?
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
Labour’s former deputy leader, who worked tirelessly to sabotage Jeremy Corbyn as leader from within, reveals he’s off to work with Palantir, the most sinister of the military-industrial tech firms. Getting the picture now?
After six wonderful years at UK Music, I'm joining Palantir UK as Senior Vice President. Palantir is the most interesting company on the planet, doing work of real consequence: helping Britain and its allies defend themselves, helping police protect our citizens and helping NHS staff get patients treated and home sooner. London is comfortably its largest centre outside the US, home to more than one in six employees, the highest proportion among the world's largest technology companies. We have challenges. Some criticism is propaganda. Some raises legitimate questions about large technology companies and sovereign control. Both require answers. Part of my role will be to correct false information while working with our engineers to ensure privacy, security and respect for sovereignty are at the heart of everything we do.
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
Lecture from Chris Whitty this week talking about how it’s drs job to hold risk. But the problem is that GPs are being asked to hold unreasonable risks in primary care including workload volume. We don’t have control over what risks we accept and mitigation strategies.
Welcome to our world …..
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And here is link to review of breast cancer surgery outsourcing Durham and Darlington NHS FT Pl RT pslhub.org/learn/patient-saf… and to our work on negative impact of outsourcing elective surgery allysonpollock.com/wp-conten… ? @andyburnham @JohnSwinney @YvetteCooperMP @mgtmccartney
Mr Amir Bhatti, CDDFT's clinical lead for breast services suspended from clinical practice on full pay. £6m paid by NHStrust to breast cancer surgery companies run privately by Bhatti. Outsourcing "a risk to clinical standards" and conflicts of interest -unnecessary treatment
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See impact of outsourcing, insourcing and Conflicts of interest - 60% of NHS funded hips knees and cataracts are outsourced. Our research shows outsourcing increases waiting times and inequalities and decreases NHS capacity @BBCNews @mgtmccartney @JohnSwinney @YvetteCooperMP
Mr Amir Bhatti, CDDFT's clinical lead for breast services suspended from clinical practice on full pay. £6m paid by NHStrust to breast cancer surgery companies run privately by Bhatti. Outsourcing "a risk to clinical standards" and conflicts of interest -unnecessary treatment
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Mr Amir Bhatti, CDDFT's clinical lead for breast services suspended from clinical practice on full pay. £6m paid by NHStrust to breast cancer surgery companies run privately by Bhatti. Outsourcing "a risk to clinical standards" and conflicts of interest -unnecessary treatment
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
Two things can be true: NAZA is a crucial documentary evidence against genocide deniers We live in a frighteningly hypocritical world that applauds Israelis who call out apartheid & genocide while shaming & disbelieving Palestinians who say the exact same words Like when German Culture Minister Claudia Roth said her applauds at 2024 Berlinale were solely directly at Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham & not his Palestinian co-director Basel Adra who was with him on stage An Israeli saying genocide & apartheid is "brave" & "extraordinary". A Palestinian using the same words is "radical", "extremist", "propagandist", "antisemite", & "uncompromising" Palestinian testimonies & evidence are treated as "biased", "exaggerated", "unreliable", until Israelis say otherwise! We need a former Israeli prime minister to say there's ethnic cleansing in the West Bank for European governments to believe it We need a former Israeli foreign minister to say that Camp David was a scam & that if he was a Palestinian he would've rejected it, in order to debunk the myth of the "most generous Israeli peace offer" We need the Israeli newspaper Haaretz to say Israel is torturing Palestinians to death in detention camps for the world to believe what we've been documenting & saying for years We always need an Israeli to add legitimacy & credibility to our meticulous & impeccable evidence That shouldn't mean discounting Israeli dissenting voices who speak up; it doesn't mean devaluing the important work they do & the risks they take when they call out their own country's crimes. There's already been a giant wave of attacks from Israeli government & opposition leaders against the filmmakers of NAZA Shame & anger should be directed at mainstream places who suppress & sideline Palestinian voices while elevating Israelis who say the exact same message The game is rigged against us. But that doesn't mean attacking Israeli dissidents like Yuval. It should rather mean that we & Israeli anti-apartheid activists should jointly call out & condemn those who set the rules of the game at every possible opportunity until Palestinian voices are heard & believed What do our people stand to gain from attacking Yuval & discrediting this movie? Activism is about what works, what makes a difference, not what feels good. NAZA is an important & crucial documentary that must be seen all around the world.
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Delighted to be speaking at this important HDRUK NHS conference on waiting lists @NCL_medscience hdruk.ac.uk/events/waiting-l… The Ministers and their SPADS need to learn about the real impact of outsourcing and privatising NHS elective surgery - @JohnSwinney @YvetteCooperMP
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Not taking sides is taking sides when genocide is taking place. Not possible to be apolitical.
Robert Kraft, owner of the Gillette Stadium, called Ed Sheeran and told him Macklemore would not be allowed to perform in his stadium and rallied other stadium owners to collectively tell Ed to remove @macklemore from the tour. Ed caved: "Ed Sheeran... told me that the words 'Free Palestine' and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn't get past his public facing, 'I don't take sides'." @edsheeran took a side alright:
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
Robert Kraft, owner of the Gillette Stadium, called Ed Sheeran and told him Macklemore would not be allowed to perform in his stadium and rallied other stadium owners to collectively tell Ed to remove @macklemore from the tour. Ed caved: "Ed Sheeran... told me that the words 'Free Palestine' and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn't get past his public facing, 'I don't take sides'." @edsheeran took a side alright:
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
We stand with our friends Yuval and Rachel, who are facing attacks from Israeli public figures and ministers who haven’t even seen the film, yet already call it lies, treason, and grounds for revoking their citizenship. This kind of smear campaign is all too familiar to us.
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
Macklemore has just been kicked off Ed Sheeran's tour for saying these words: “Free Palestine. I want those words to be loud and clear so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know we have not forgotten them... To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide is in no way a criticism of you.... My message is for peace. Love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. None of us will be free until we are all free.” This is what they are afraid of and need to censor from you:
Macklemore
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No I not @dmcafferty49 two strategic health boards will lead to loss of political and public accountability and as night follows days service cuts and closures. @JohnSwinney should be following the money private finance and Scottish futures Trust to make savings
Replying to @AllysonPollock
You are thinking of England.
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Dear @alexnunns this is a horrific story and a first hand illustration of the disintegration of nhs services following privatisation and outsourcing.. I hope Your mum gets the care she needs swiftly. BW .
Replying to @alexnunns
My mum has had blood taken from her foot many times, usually in the same facility. But successive governments have broken up the NHS into privately-run fragments. Their bottom line is profits, not patients. Meanwhile, my mum has suspected cancer but still no blood test. 10/10
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What nonsense. Health boards are the decision makers, funders, service planners and the accountable bodies reorganise NHS in order to dismantle and cut services instead of explaining fiscal issues @dmccafferty49
There will be two Health Boards with a strategic role. Local accountability remains at service delivery level at "point of need". Just as the original vision of an NHS envisaged. The Scottish Govt is tackling unnecessary top heavy bureaucracy and returning to basic principles.
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Allyson Pollock retweeted
How can Andy Burnham deliver public ownership? Force private monopolies to deliver on their statutory duties Say no to more bill hikes When they go bust, LET THEM Then take them back
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