Medact

Medact Sheffield: Meeting
2020-06-30 20:00 - 21:30 (Europe/London)
Medact Sheffield will be having an online meeting on Tuesday 30th June at 8.00pm.
For details on how to join the meeting please email sheffield@medact.org

Medact Sheffield: Meeting
2020-07-07 19:30 - 20:30
Medact Sheffield will be meeting on Tuesday July 7th at 7:30pm.

Please email the Medact Sheffield Co-ordinators at sheffield@medact.org for information about how to join the online meeting

Medact Sheffield: Meeting
2020-07-21 19:30 - 20:30
Medact Sheffield will be meeting on Tuesday 21st July at 7:30pm.
Please contact the Medact Sheffield Co-ordinators at sheffield@medact.org for information on how to join the online meeting.

Medact Sheffield: Meeting
2020-08-04 19:30 - 20:30
Medact Sheffield will be meeting on Tuesday 4th August at 7:30pm.
Please email the Medact Sheffield Co-ordinators at sheffield@medact.org for information about how to join the meeting

Medact Sheffield: Meeting
2020-08-11 19:30 - 21:00
Our Sheffield Group will be meeting online on Tuesday 11th August at 7:30pm.
For details on how to join the online meeting, please email sheffield@medact.org

Medact Sheffield: Meeting
2020-09-01 19:30 - 20:30
Medact Sheffield will be meeting on Tuesday 1st September at 7:30pm.
Please email the Medact Sheffield Co-ordinators at sheffield@medact.org for information about how to join the meeting.

AGM 2020
2020-09-12 11:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Our 2020 AGM will take place online (on Zoom) on Saturday 12th September, 11am – 1pm. We are sorry to not be able to organise the usual weekend get-together, but hope holding the meeting online will enable easy participation for members from across the UK.

The meeting will feature:

a chance to hear a summary of work over the past year

consideration and approval of our annual accounts

Trustee elections

motions from members

All are welcome, though only members are eligible to vote on motions and Trustee elections.

Please RSVP to receive a copy of final papers for the meeting, and details of how to join the call.

[Registration has now closed]

The deadline for submitting motions or Trustee candidates has now passed.

Motions

‘That Medact should investigate the risks and benefits of civil nuclear power, noting its clear links with the military industry, and produce a briefing to be used as the basis for consultation with the membership, and bring a proposal for policy to be discussed at the AGM in 2021.’

Proposed: Frank Boulton

Seconded: Elizabeth Waterston

‘That the Board undertakes a review of the Memorandum and Articles to ensure they are appropriate for the organisation that Medact has become and to present these for approval at the next AGM.’

Proposed: Medact Board

Trustee elections

Two Trustees who have served as co-opted Trustees over the last year will be standing for election for a three-year term:

Anne Schulthess is the Marketing manager at the International Institute for Environment and Development. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and prior to joining the communications team at IIED she spent several years as a campaigner at the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and as a programme manager at the stop-smoking charity, QUIT. She is particularly interested in communicating the linkages between climate change, biodiversity loss and global health, and is trying to be a better intersectional feminist and listener to the experiences of people in the global South.

Lisa Murphy works at the NHSX Centre of Expertise, establishing fair value data partnerships for the health service and ensuring ethical technology development. She previously worked as a junior doctor and in Public Health England – developing a passion for addressing health and social inequity through community centred action. This has translated into working with the Medact Migrant Solidarity Group to and drive research and interventions on healthcare exclusion, as well as coordinating campaigns on the intersection of human rights and the use of technology.

Two Trustee who have served a first three-year term on the Board will be standing for re-election, for a second three-year term:

Jeremy Wight is a ‘retired’ public health doctor, having worked in hospitals in Derby and Sheffield, before specialising in public health. He was Director of Public Health for Sheffield from 2006 to 2015, and subsequently worked for the National Institute of Clinical and Health Excellence (NICE). In addition to being a Medact Trustee, he is also a Trustee of Hope for the Future, and chairs Hope Valley Climate Action, as well as being a non-executive director at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital. He lives in the Hope Valley, in the Derbyshire Peak District, and spends as much of his spare time out of doors as possible.

Jonathan Monk-Cunliffe is a medical doctor training in psychiatry. He holds a masters degree in public health and a postgraduate certificate in medical education, reflecting his interest in both topics. He is currently an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, combining clinical work with research into the physical health of people with mental illness. Jonathan has a longstanding interest in social justice and health equity. As a student, he was involved with Students for Global Health (formerly Medsin), and helped to organise their national conference on health inequalities. He recently helped to re-establish the Medact Sheffield group, starting a Patients Not Passports campaign on access to healthcare. Having now moved to the South West he is keen to continue this work, as well as dragging his bike up some of the local hills.

Access to healthcare, borders in the NHS and NHS charging
2021-04-29 19:00 - 20:30
Medact Sheffield and the Justice for Simba Campaign are speaking at this event with the excellent SYMAAG on Thursday 29th April at 7.00pm.
The event will focus on the different ways in which the hostile environment permeates into the NHS in the form of charging, data sharing and restricted access.
Find out more and register your place

Medact Sheffield Group Meeting
2021-05-04 19:30 | Zoom
Our Sheffield local group will be meeting on Tuesday 4th May @ 7.30pm.
If you’re interested in getting involved, please email sheffield@medact.org

The climate crisis is a health crisis ─ what can health and social care workers in Yorkshire do?
2021-06-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
All over the world, climate change is undermining the health of entire communities. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has forecast that if serious action is not taken now to reduce emissions, we may see as many as 250,000 additional climate-related deaths each year between 2030-2050 alone. In Yorkshire, studies have shown that climate change has already increased the likelihood of regular, more severe flooding.
This is a crisis that concerns all of society, but it does not impact us all equally. As we have seen, communities and nations across the globe already feeling the impacts of climate change also tend to be the ones least responsible for it. It is in these communities that we are already seeing excess deaths due to extreme weather events, increasing rates of things such as cardiovascular disease and respiratory conditions resulting from environmental injustices such as air pollution.
Join Medact Yorkshire for this webinar as we explore how those working in health and social care in Yorkshire can take action for a healthier, greener and more just society, one that prioritises the health and wellbeing of people and planet!
We’re really lucky to have an amazing lineup of incredible speakers joining us!

Matthew Sawyer – GP and Sustainability Consultant
Alexis Percival – Environmental and Sustainability Manager, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA)
Angela Harley – Medact Yorkshire
Jess Zollman-Thomas – Medact Sheffield
Mia Thomas – Medact Leeds
Christian Vassie – City of York councillor and ‘Climate Champion’

[Registration has now closed]

Access to Healthcare in a Hostile Environment
2021-09-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
On Monday 6th September, Medact Sheffield invites you to Access to Healthcare in the Hostile Environment, a webinar exploring how hostile environment immigration policies in the NHS are deterring migrants from accessing the care they need.
We’re honoured to be joined by Simba Mujakachi, as we build towards Simba’s Carnival of Resistance to the Hostile Environment where we’ll march with the Justice for Simba campaign to deliver his 67,000 signature petition to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
In this webinar we’ll hear from Simba and his father Victor about their experiences of being on the receiving end of inhumane NHS charging policies, Dr Rizwana Lala will speak about the public health impacts of the Hostile Environment, and together we’ll discuss how you get get involved with the Patients Not Passports campaign both locally and nationally.
Sign up, and we’ll see you there!
Medact Sheffield
Speakers
Simba, who came to the UK as a teenager in 2004 – was sent a bill for more than £93,000 after he suffered a stroke and spent 2 weeks in a coma, because of his immigration status. Now he is calling on everyone to oppose migrant charging in the NHS and call for an end to the hostile environment immigration policies. He speaks of his personal experience facing the hostile environment and campaigning against it.
Victor, Simba’s father and long-time Sheffield activist has worked with ASSIST, Voice for the Voiceless and South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action group (SYMAAG). He speaks passionately about his experience of the hostile environment and local campaigns he has been a part of.
Rizwana is a dentist, public health consultant and mum here in Sheffield.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports — New Joiners meeting September 2021
2021-09-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The best way to get up to speed with the campaign and get connected with work going on across the country is to come to our next New Joiners meeting on Thursday 9th September. We’ll cover campaign strategy, hear from some of the groups working on the Patients Not Passports campaign, and explore the different ways you can get involved. We’re currently building towards a national day of action in October, so there’s lots to do!
? Register for the next New Joiners meeting – Thurs 9th September ?
Most of the Patients Not Passports work happens through locally focused campaign groups, with groups based in: Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Oxford; East, South, and South East London; Glasgow, and Wales. If you’re not in any of these places, don’t worry! Docs Not Cops and Medact’s Migrant Solidarity Group work nationally or we can support you to set up your own local group. You don’t need to work in healthcare to be involved! To win we’ll need everyone working together to oppose NHS charging and there is room for everyone in the campaign.
If you can’t make the next New Joiners meeting, don’t worry – there’ll be another one in a few months or we can make time for a quick phone call with you or connect you directly with your local group. If you have time, you could check out How NHS staff are fighting back against the ‘hostile environment’ for an overview of the campaign, or read Challenging Healthcare Charging in the NHS, a briefing that examines where the Hostile Environment policies came from, how they work, what their impact is, and what we can do about them.
? Register for the next New Joiners meeting – Thurs 9th September ?

Medact Sheffield Banner Making
2021-09-14 18:00 - 20:00 | U-mix Centre, 17 Asline Road, Lowfield, Sheffield, S2 4UJ, United Kingdom
On Tuesday 14th September 6-8pm we will be hosting a banner making session to make banners for the ? Justice for Simba Campaign’s Carnival of Resistance to the Hostile Environment ? .
Do come and join us — it would be lovely to meet any new faces; all levels of creativity for banner-making welcome! Drop us an email at sheffield@medact.org if you’re planning to come along.
We’ll be in the training and performance room at the U-mix Centre, 17 Asline Road, Lowfield, Sheffield, S2 4UJ.

No Borders in the NHS! Week of Action, 23-27 October
2021-10-23 00:00 - 2021-10-27 23:59
The Hostile Environment is turning the NHS into the new frontier of border control. Join us as we take action against patient charging and demand an end to borders in the NHS!

Hostile Environment immigration policies are undermining the founding principles of the NHS. People are turned away from the healthcare they need. People are turned away from the healthcare they need. Immigration checks are becoming normalised in receptions and wards across the country. NHS hospitals routinely share patient data with the Home Office. People are harassed by debt collectors for huge bills they will never be able to pay.

Save the dates! No Borders In The NHS: Week of Action, 23-27 October. People all over the country will take action across five themed days of action, more info to follow!

We must remember all those whose lives have been devastated by border controls in healthcare, continue to resist through collective organising in hospitals and workplaces, and stand in solidarity with all those who are impacted by the hostile environment. Join us!

No Borders In The NHS: Week of Action, 23 – 27 October

People all over the country will take action across five themed days.

Saturday 23rd – Remember and Resist!

We begin by remembering and honouring all those whose lives have been destroyed by racist Hostile Environment policies. October 23rd marks four years since the introduction of upfront charging for migrants in the NHS, and two years since the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who were found in a lorry in Essex.

Today we remember Nasar Ullah Khan, who died after being denied treatment for heart failure. We remember Elfreda Spencer, who died because she could not pay £30,000 upfront for chemotherapy. We remember Kelema Mulat, who died following a 6 week delay in breast cancer treatment. We remember Elvis, who died of coronavirus without help because he was too scared of being charged or deported if he came forward for treatment. We remember all whose lives have been made disposable at the hands of Britain’s hostile border controls—their bravery, their struggles to survive and their campaigns for a better world.

Join campaign groups across the country holding street stalls and vigils:

London:

12 noon – 1pm @ Lewisham Hospital A&E, SE13. With Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network and Lewisham Citizens

12 noon @ Whitechapel Underground Station. With Tower Hamlets Keep Our NHS Public

12 noon @ Dalston Farmers Market, St Paul’s Church, N16. With Hackney Patients Not Passports, Hackney Keep Our NHS Public, Akwaaba, and Feminist Fightback

6pm @ Walthamstow Town Square, E17. With Waltham Forest Patients Not Passports, Waltham Forest Save Our NHS, and Waltham Forest Migrant Action

Brighton & Hove:

5.30pm @ Peace Statue, Hove Lawns, Hove. With Brighton Medact

Manchester:

Midday @ St. Mary’s Hospital, Oxford Road (opposite the Whitworth Gallery), Manchester, M13. With Greater Manchester Patients Not Passports, Manchester Keep our NHS Public, Medact Manchester, and The Greater Manchester Immigraiton Aid Unit

Rally against the Nationality & Borders Bill. 2pm @ St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD. With NW Unison, NW NEU, Greater Immigration Aid Unit, Lancashire Association Trades Union Councils(LATUC), Greater Manchester Association Trades Union Councils, NW Unison Black Members Committee, NW TUC Black Members Committee, Status Now, and RAPAR.

Sun 24th – Free for All Forever: No to Privatisation

The introduction of Hostile Environment immigration policies into the NHS goes hand in hand with a wider project of privatising our healthcare system and erosion of its founding principle: that healthcare is a right and should be available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay or where you’re from. The 2017 introduction of upfront charging in the NHS marked one of the most profound changes since it was established, forcing NHS Trust to withhold care from people that cannot pay. The new Health and Care Bill, currently being debated in Parliament will further open the door to privatisation and the undermining of our health system as we know it.

Read this article by Keep Our NHS Public campaigner, Alia Butt, and help us share Docs Not Cops’ video outlining what is happening to the NHS.

Mon 25th – Solidarity Knows No Borders: End the Hostile Environment

Today we stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by the Hostile Environment and the racism of border controls. From schools, to housing, to healthcare, the Hostile Environment seeks to destroy lives and undermine access to vital public services. At the same time, the Government’s new Borders & Nationality Bill – also known as the #AntiRefugeeBill – seeks to create a two tier system for people seeking safety, normalise offshore migrant prisons, and limit migrants’ access to justice.

Today we will highlight that the immigration system is not broken – it is violent and hostile by design. We will stand with all campaigning for an end to the Hostile Environment in its entirety.

In London, there will be a street stall outside St Thomas’ Hospital to talk to NHS staff about The Hostile Environment and how it will impact their work:

7:30pm – 9pm @ St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge entrance, SE1. With Lambeth and Southwark Patients Not Passports

In Sheffield, there’ll be a street stall outside the Royal Hallamshire to talk to NHS staff about the Hostile Environment, raise awareness about the Justice for Simba campaign, and find out how to get more involved with the movement for migrant justice:

4pm @ Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, S10. With Medact Sheffield, The Justice for Simba Campaign, South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group

In Newcastle, there’ll be a street stall outside Royal Victoria Infirmary to talk to NHS staff about The Hostile Environment and how it will impact their work:

8am – 9:30am, Monday 25th @ Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, NE1. With Keep Our NHS Public North East and Medact North East

Tuesday 26th – Organise To Win

The Hostile Environment seeks to turn those who care and support the most marginalised in our society into border guards. This is what we must remember when we build our campaigns against racist immigration controls in our public services. The Department of Health will only listen when we organise in our workplaces and in our communities, to raise collective awareness about what is happening under the Hostile Environment and together refuse to be complicit in this system.

It will take all of us to win. That means everybody the Hostile Environment tries to recruit as a border guard, we must now recruit to our campaign: to be fighters for justice and to stand up for everyone’s right to healthcare. NHS workers have a particular role to play to advocate for patients facing increasing barriers to care and to protect the universal principles that underpin the NHS.

Look out for a list of street stalls and leafleting at hospitals and town centres near you, with information about how you can join the campaign wherever you are.

London:

7:30am – 9am @ St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge entrance, London SE1. With Lambeth and Southwark Patients Not Passports.

Leeds:

7:30 – 9am @ Leeds Infirmary, Jubilee Wing main entrance, Leeds, LS1. With Leeds Keep Our NHS Public

Brighton:

7.45am and 4.45pm @ Royal Sussex County Hospital, BN2

4.45pm @ Millview Hospital, BN3

Time TBC @ Princess Royal Hospital, BR6

Time TBC @ Eastbourne District General Hospital, BN21

Wednesday 27th – No Borders In Healthcare

Our NHS was founded on the principle of universal healthcare, free at the point of use for everyone – regardless of background, nationality, or ability to pay. The government’s Hostile Environment means this is no longer the case. What we see as a result is people deterred from seeking the care they need, outright denied treatment on the basis of the documents they have, questioned about their entitlement to care because of how they look, the colour of their skin, or their so called ‘foreign sounding name’, and people being forced to choose between incurring huge debts, regularising their immigration status, or their good health.

Today we join forces across the country to make our message clear: no borders in healthcare. The NHS must treat #PatientsNotPassports.

If you’re in Newcastle join their banner drop:

8:30am @ The Dome, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. With North East Keep Our NHS Public, and Medact North East

In Liverpool, campaigners from Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders will be out in the town centre talking to people about the impact of NHS charging and how to join the Patients Not Passports campaign:

Midday @ Liverpool Town Centre (close to Iceland on Kensington). With Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders.

In Bristol, there’ll be a demo in the town centre calling for an end to NHS Charging and the Hostile Environment:

5pm – 7pm @ The Sails, by Primark, Broadmead, BS1. With Bistol Patients Not Passports and Bristol Medact

We’ll let you know how to participate online on the day! Get in touch at info@act.patientsnotpassports.co.uk to help get the message out on Wednesday morning.

PnP New Joiners Meeting: November 2021
2021-11-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
For anyone who is new to Patients Not Passports, we’re holding our next New Joiners meeting on November 23rd at 7PM on Zoom. We’ll recap October’s National Week of Action, talk about future strategies, hear from some of the groups working on the Patients Not Passports campaign and explore the different ways you can get involved.
This meeting is the best way to get up to speed with the campaign and get connected with work going on across the country!
Register Here!
Most of the Patients Not Passports work happens through locally focused campaign groups, with groups based in: Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Oxford; East, South, and South East London; Glasgow, and Wales.
If you’re not in any of these places, don’t worry! Docs Not Cops and Medact’s Migrant Solidarity Group work nationally, or we can support you to set up your own local group. You don’t need to work in healthcare to be involved! To win we’ll need everyone working together to oppose NHS charging and there is room for everyone in the campaign.
If you can’t make the New Joiners meeting, don’t worry—there’ll be another one in a few months or we can make time for a quick phone call with you or connect you directly with your local group.
If you have time, you could check out How NHS staff are fighting back against the ‘hostile environment’ for an overview of the campaign, or read Challenging Healthcare Charging in the NHS, a briefing that examines where the Hostile Environment policies came from, how they work, what their impact is, and what we can do about them.

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-03-29 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-04-05 19:00 - 20:00
Medact Sheffield are currently focusing their campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal.
The group meets fortnightly on Tuesdays in a hybrid format – in person at the Medical School (room to be confirmed each time) and online via Zoom.
To get involved, sign up to their mailing list or email the group coordinator.

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-04-12 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-04-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-05-10 19:00 - 20:00 | University of Sheffield Medical School, University of Sheffield, Beech Hill Road, Broomhall, Sheffield, S10 2RX, United Kingdom
Medact Sheffield are currently focusing their campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal.

The group meets fortnightly on Tuesdays from 7pm – 8pm in a hybrid format — in person at the Medical School (room to be confirmed each time) and online on Zoom.

Sign up to the Medact Sheffield email list below to get involved — or email sheffield@medact.org.

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-05-24 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-06-07 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-06-21 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-07-05 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-07-19 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-08-09 19:00 - 20:00

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-08-25 19:00 - 20:00
Medact Sheffield are currently focusing their campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal.

The group meets fortnightly in a hybrid format — in person at the Medical School (room to be confirmed each time) and online on Zoom.

Sign up to the Medact Sheffield email list below to get involved — or email sheffield@medact.org.

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-09-06 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-09-27 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-10-11 19:00 - 20:00
Medact Sheffield are currently focusing their campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal.

The group meets fortnightly from 7pm – 8pm in a hybrid format — in person at the Medical School (room to be confirmed each time) and online on Zoom.

Sign up to the Medact Sheffield email list below to get involved — or email sheffield@medact.org.
