NHS Foundation Trusts are democratic. The principles behind NHS Foundation Trusts build on the sense of ownership many local people and staff feel for their hospital. NHS Foundation Trusts have unique governance arrangements and are accountable to local people, who can become members and governors. NHS Foundation Trusts strengthen local ownership of – and responsibility for – hospital and other health services. Major decisions are informed by active participation from members based in local communities. This NHS Foundation Trust is accountable to its members though the Council of Governors. It has a duty to consult and involve the Council of Governors (comprising patients, staff, members of the public and partner organisations) in the strategic planning of the organisation, and major decisions are informed by active participation from members based in local communities. All 8500 members of staff are automatically members of the Trust. Members of the local community, patients and carers can apply to become members. There are currently nearly 5000 public and patient members. There has been no consultation with the Council of Governors. Members have been unaware of what has been happening until now – when the plan is about to be implemented. They have not had the opportunity to actively participate. I don’t want this Trust to set up a private company so that it can indirectly employ staff on non-NHS terms and conditions. I see this move as damaging to the NHS. It is a step towards privatisation which I do not want the Trust to take. Please sign this petition to support the call for the Trust to reverse its decision; and to not use a wholly-owned subsidiary company to employ staff as non-NHS.

The 13 hospice beds at the In Patient Palliative Care Unit, St Charles Hospital, Ladbroke Grove are used by people with a life limiting illness for respite, symptom control and care in the last days of life. They’ve been closed “temporarily” because of staff shortages but now policy makers are claiming they are unnecessary and that beds can be found elsewhere. However alternative hospices are under pressure themselves and difficult for many to access. At the end of their lives people and their loved ones need care that’s familiar and easily reached.The Pembridge is well regarded and well used – its beds should be saved.

We don't typically name conditions/diseases/illnesses based on their symptoms. Recently Bile Acid Malabsorption was renamed to Bile Acid Diarrhoea. We shouldn't label this condition by its already stigmatised and extremely horrid symptom. From the age of 12 I have suffered from debilitating and soul destroying unpredictable diarrhoea. For 20 years I was told that I was 'probably just an anxious person' and 'must have a lot of intolerances' by medical professionals. It was so bad that I couldn't eat out, or really go on holiday, and some days, it made it hard to leave the house. I've had accidents when out with friends, family and at work. Honestly, it is absolutely soul destroying. I would later find out that because I could actually leave the house sometimes, I had it better than some... In 2017 I finally got answers as to why I constantly had diarrhoea; my digestive system had an overload of bile - I was constantly producing it (our bodies only usually discharged when we eat then reabsorb and produce if needed) so overall it was too much for my body to handle. It wasn't caused by anxiety/nerves, but it certainly caused a lot! When I was diagnosed by an amazing consultant in 2017, the condition was known as Bile Acid Malabsorption. It was first discovered in 2008. It has three main types: Type 1 BAD affects people who have BAD as a result of either inflammation of the small bowel due to Crohn's disease or surgical removal of the small bowel. Type 2 BAD (previously referred to as idiopathic/primary bile acid malabsorption). Type 3 BAD affects people with various gastrointestinal diseases such as removal of the gallbladder (Cholecystectomy), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), post radiation treatment for cancer, coeliac disease and chronic pancreatitis. Research studies suggest that 1:3 people who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-d) as a prominent feature could have primary BAD. (Source: https://bad-uk.org). Type 2 is the most prevalent, and is no other disorder affecting the small bowel. It's believed those with Type 2 BAD have a hormone defect - our bodies don't produce enough of the 'off' hormone to tell the liver to stop producing the bile. This is the biggest proportion of sufferers of the condition. Estimates say that around 17% of the UK population suffer from IBS. (Source: https://www.bjmp.org/content/irritable-bowel-syndrome-primary-care-physicians) So, a nasty condition, that causes debilitating diarrhoea, and all the pain, low energy and serious mental health issues that go along with that. Top that with 1:3 of those diagnosed with IBS potentially having it, (that's 5.6% of the UK population, or roughly the same amount of the population who are diagnosed with depression*!), and you see it's a major concern to those who have it, and those who may have it. Rightly, in 2017/2018, the NHS teams working on and with Bile Acid Malabsorption decided that the name didn't really fit with the latest findings - only one of the three causes was to do with malabsorption. They decided to call it Bile Acid Diarrhoea, because diarrhoea is the one thing all three causes had in common. Unfortunately for those suffering with the lifelong condition, this meant that we now have to explain to medical professionals, friends, employers, and anyone else who may need to know, that we suffer from bile acid diarrhoea, but the reality is that most people will just hear the "diarrhoea". As a sufferer, I want to be in some control over who knows what symptoms my condition comes with. Though we completely agree that there should be no stigma around diarrhoea, or any other 'embarrassing' bodily conditions, the truth is that the new name of our condition is making it even harder to live with. Imagine if you had to explain an illness/disease/condition primarily by one of its symptoms - it's horrid, isn't it. I therefore would LOVE to see the lovely and incredible medical professionals within our wonderful NHS and across the world rename our condition to something that doesn't include it's biggest and most embarrassing symptom, or even better perhaps after one of those who discovered it. This petition is by no means meant to offend those who worked/work so tirelessly in discovering the condition and how to treat it, and the wonderful charities that support it - they have changed all of our lives for the better. We just want to be able to talk about our condition openly, and not worrying how non medically trained people might perceive it. We might not be able to cure the condition, but we can make it a little easier to talk to people about it. *Source: 3.8 million in the UK suffer from depression according to https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/quality-and-outcomes-framework-achievement-prevalence-and-exceptions-data/quality-and-outcomes-framework-qof-2015-16, and 5.7% of the UK population is 3,591,000.

My beloved first wife died in 2012 with Alzheimer's disease. Since then I have volunteered for Admiral Nurses (an NHS Charity) who care for dementia sufferers and their carers. I have witnessed many times the unjust provision of social care in England that adds financial worries to people who are already distressed. The worry of not being able to afford good social care for a loved one and of having to sell one's home to pay for social care, imposes a great additional stress on the carer. The great strain and stress experienced by carers of dementia patients is well documented, as is the effect of stress on mental health. As Minister of Health you have the power and responsibility to provide good affordable social care in England, to eliminate unnecessary financial worries associated with social care and dementia, and to improve the health and well-being of those cared for and their carers. Today in the UK there are 800,000 people with dementia. Most, ~98% are over 65 years old with about 18,000 people aged 30 to 64 years. People who are unlucky and develop dementia are faced with annual costs for social care of £15,000 to £50,000. For all but the very wealthy, social care costs are at the least a severe problem. For many the costs can be disastrous. Each year in the UK about 128,000 people have to sell their homes to pay for social care. All people with dementia, regardless of age, deserve good affordable social care. Risks of loss of, or damage to, homes, or cars etc., are spread across those who own them by insurance. But there is no insurance that spreads the risk of the financial consequences of acquiring dementia. Sir Andrew Dilnot’s Report on Social Care, commissioned by the Coalition government in 2010, recommends ways to provide good social care that avoid impoverishing those who need it. Since 2011 the UK government has several times postponed implementing the main recommendation of the Dilnot Report, a cap on social care costs of £35,000. As a consequence some people are still having to sell their homes to pay for social care. In the 9 years since The Dilnot Report, the UK government has singularly failed to address the inadequate, unfair, and unsustainable current provision of social care. During this period of continued inaction more than half a million dementia patients have died. The Institute of Public Policy Research's comprehensive reform package for social care[Pinner and Hochlaf IPPR May 2019] includes fully funded free personal care for over 65's. This can be paid for by modest increases in National Insurance(~1.3%), or in Income Tax(~2.1%). The IPPR reform package spreads the financial risks associated with over 65's needing social care across the working population, but does not address the problems face by younger people. The UK Government must tackle immediately the inadequate, unfair provision of social care, by building on the IPPR proposed reforms to include the minority of younger people who suffer with dementia. As Minister of Health you have the power and the responsibility to improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people with dementia, young and old, and their carers, and to ensure that no-one will ever have to sell their home to pay for Social Care. Exercise your powers with compassion now.

Currently many of us struggling to get a pre-bookable appointment with our GP within 3-4 weeks. Appointments are given out on a 'first come, first served basis' at 8 a.m. Monday to Friday and clearly there's not enough to go round because if you are lucky enough to get through on the phone, then most of these appointments have gone by 8.30. In addition to this our local walk in centres have been closed. So what do you do if you are unlucky enough to fall ill outside of designated hours? Be prepared for a very long wait! If you phone 111 you are directed either to A&E or meddoc. Recently there have been several accounts of A&E triaging patients straight across to meddoc (even some of those taken in by ambulance) with those patients suffering severe consequences and in some cases nearly dying, as they get bounced backwards and forwards between a&e and meddoc. On one occasion whilst we were waiting with my daughter to be seen by meddoc, a man collapsed in front of us and the crash team had to be called. He had just been triaged by a&e and sent across to meddoc! Sadly this isn't an isolated incident either. Many people in Medway have experiences to tell of their loved ones nearly dying because of inadequate care and resources. This includes stories of cardiac arrests, sepsis and brain injuries. Staff work flat out but there just aren't enough of them and they are trying to meet unrealistic targets set by the government. Those that actually make it through triage and are deemed serious enough to not be referred to meddoc can then expect a 12 hour plus wait on Lister ward, where doctors and nurses are run off their feet and there isn't so much as a water machine for patients. I experienced this myself with a suspected pulmonary embolism four days after a total knee replacement operation. I can tell you that spending 12 hours trying to sit with your knee bent or stand for hours after a total knee replacement is excruciating! On that occasion there were many elderly and disorientated patients needing care that were simply left on chairs (if they were lucky) in a cramped, airless waiting room or in dark corridors, with no access to water. This is becoming a desperate and untenable situation. I for one am genuinely afraid that should one of my family fall ill and need emergency care that they may too end up being in the middle of the meddoc waiting room with a crash team around them, simply because there aren't enough doctors and too many targets to be met. It's time for this currently flawed and failing system to be reviewed and effective strategies put in place. We need our current government to listen and do what Boris Johnson promised the public over Brexit, which was to invest much needed funds into the NHS.

My eldest daughter ( now 10), was born with this. She was very poorly and we were told that she may not survive. She was in the Neonatal unit for a week in Birmingham Women's Hospital. We later found out she also had pneumonia and pneumothorax. She was severely unwell. Most babies born with this who survive are deaf and have learning difficulties. Abby was a lucky one. The only way she has been affected is with a weakened immune system. THE SCARY THING IS WOMEN DO NOT KNOW THEY CARRY THIS DEADLY BACTERIA UNTIL THEIR BABIES ARE BORN AND ALL TOO OFTEN IT IS TOO LATE

Local peoples health and lives will be put at risk by the Ill prepared changes that are being rushed through without many of the necessary preparations having been put in place by the Authorities and the CCG

My son took his life, age 23 yrs. His mental health for the last 4 years, since losing his father to Esophageal Cancer, in 2015 was up and down. He received some treatment & support in 2016/17 but was discharged in 2018, deemed well enough to no longer need the services. His mental health then deteriorated further, his life spiralled out of control and he was in complete denial about his health and completely lacking any insight into his problems. He also may have felt he needed to mask/hide his problems because; I believe they may have been too uncomfortable for him to talk about. When an Adult child is out of the "system"; It is very difficult to get them back into it unless they Engage, Co-operate or visit their GP or actively seek treatment. My argument is that they are too unwell to engage, especially when they lack insight into their condition. The problem the loved one, parent or care giver then faces is, in my experience, no-one will listen to you because: (they are over 18) and the Adult Child either refuses or does not seek help, which then leads to to them missing out on treatment or not receiving it at all. Not listening to the parent/caregiver or their loved ones, because of confidentiality, in these circumstances, is in my opinion, "ridiculous". The parent/caregiver or loved one is usually the closest to these individuals and knows them best of all. This has to stop and common sense must prevail. If the Adult child has a history of Mental Health problems, has a confirmed diagnosis, has sick notes and medication.........Caregivers/parents and close loved ones, must not have the confidentiality card shown to them. Healthcare providers must intervene and listen to the the people who are speaking up for and on behalf of their Adult child/loved one. We are all responsible for SAFEGUARDING. We don't want to hear: "Call the Police". The Police are not adept at Mental Health issues and the unwell individual does not need this; they need care and assessments by professionally trained Psychiatric Dr's/Consultants or Senior Psychiatric Nurses and even if the Adult Child has never had an episode of Mental ill health, their nearest and dearest, who know them best and want to help them need to be listened to. We cannot let any more young men or women slip through the net because "They Wont Engage" or "We cannot talk to you". This is a fob off and an insult. (Perhaps the individual would engage if you knew how to engage them). I never want another Mother/Father/Caregiver or Loved One, to go through the extensive and heart wrenching pain I am going through right now. I plead for your support and for common sense to prevail. We need to increase the availability of mental health resources and to reduce barriers to accessing care. (The World Health Organisation), (International Association for Suicide Prevention) and the (World Federation for Mental Health) all agree that barriers to accessing care need to be removed. Wikipedia Thank you all so much for your support and reading and sharing my petition.

It is important as this the local practice for most of the village and has been for over 100 years also the community don’t have great access to travel to other practices it has been bad enough with the cuts to services vital to the community.

We understand that local authority funding has been viscously cut by successive governments, since 2008. However we also understand that it is the legal responsibility of local authorities to deliver support and care to vulnerable people within their communities. We call on you, Andy Burnham, as mayor of Greater Manchester and figure head for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to take a stand.

NHS staff are facing a new peril that is sweeping across the UK. Frimley Health Trust is creating a Wholly owned subsidiary company that is another route for the Trust to cut terms and conditions for staff and save money through avoiding VAT. Frimley Health will have a private company which will be set up by them to deliver outsourced NHS services. Please support our NHS workers who are under threat of being privatised by signing the petition. #NHSmeansNHS

We started this project because the sport of climbing is completely unrepresented in our area. We want to give people the chance to experience the fun and excitement involved in climbing and to expand their resources to achieve a healthy lifestyle. The people in our community have already showed a huge amount of interest in this project and with climbing's debut in the 2020 Olympics there's no better time to make this project a reality.