Medact

Patients Not Passports — New Joiners meeting September 2021
2021-09-09 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | 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, 2022-10-25 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-11-08 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.

AGM 2022
2022-10-29 13:30 - 17:00 | Sheffield, United Kingdom
The AGM is our annual opportunity to come together and explore the overall running of Medact. As always, we’re excited to bring together members old and new from the UK and beyond.

This year marks 30 years since Medact was formed, so together we will be celebrating where Medact has come from and looking ahead to the future at our 2022 Annual General Meeting on Saturday 29th October.

The day will include:

updates from our campaigns and member groups

opportunities to get involved in the coming months

essential business including scrutiny of our finances and elections

celebrating 30 years of Medact!

Everyone is welcome to join the meeting, but you must be a member to propose and vote on motions or in elections. If you would like to get involved in running Medact, why not join today?

This year we will be holding the AGM as a hybrid event, with the option to attend in-person in Sheffield at Union Street Co-working Offices or online on Zoom. Union Street is a wheelchair accessible building.

You can sign up to receive more information below.

Submitting motions

The AGM is a space to put forward proposals for how you would like to see the running of Medact. You can do this by submitting a motion for discussion at the AGM by contacting the office on office@medact.org. If you would like any support in drafting a motion, please contact Movement Organiser, Ben on beneder@medact.org.

Election of Trustees

The AGM is also the place where members elect Trustees, who are responsible for the overall governance of Medact. To nominate another candidate for Trustee election, please contact the office on office@medact.org. The deadline for submitting motions is set at 5pm on Wednesday 19th October to allow time to prepare and circulate the final agenda.

This year we will be holding the AGM as a hybrid event, with the option to attend in-person in Sheffield (at Union Street Co-working Offices) or online.

Register to let us know your coming below!

If you would appreciate assistance with joining the online meeting please let us know, and one of the team will be happy to help.

[Registration has now closed]

Health blocs @ Global Day of Action for Climate Justice 2022
2022-11-12 | Across the UK, United Kingdom
Global temperatures, rising. Energy bills, rising. Billionaire profits, rising. Health injustice, rising.
Last year, you and the health community came together in your 100s across the UK for the global day of action during COP 26 in Glasgow. Since then, energy companies are making record-breaking profits while people are being forced to choose between heating and eating.

Government policies, both nationally and globally, are causing devastation to people’s health. Working people and people of colour—who have contributed the least to the problem—are paying the price with killer famines, floods, crop failures, fires and rising poverty.

This November, when world leaders meet in Egypt for COP27, African movements have called for a Global Day of Action for climate justice.

The UK Government must stop its climate wrecking plans, and implement real climate solutions that solve both the climate and cost of living crises. To stop this crisis we need action that cuts carbon, tackles inequality and ends the injustices baked into our world. Communities in the global south need urgent climate finance and reparations for the loss and damages that have caused mass destruction of lives and livelihoods.

Justice won’t be handed to us by world leaders or delivered by corporations. We need to organise in our communities to ensure that not only is no one is cold or hungry this winter, but that we stop the headlong rush into climate catastrophe.

Sign up to join your local health bloc on the day! Medact London, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol and Blackpool. Select where you will be marching in the form below.

You can see the full list of locations where demonstrations are taking place on the climatejustice.uk website. If you are planning to join demonstrations not listed above, please get in touch with Rob Abrams, Climate & Health Campaign & Programme lead on robabrams@medact.org.

[Registration has now closed]

Stop the war on Gaza! Health Blocs at national demonstrations for Palestine
2023-10-21 00:00 - 23:59
Join other health workers marching on Friday 20th October and Saturday October 21st to stand in solidarity with Palestine and call for an immediate ceasefire.

This week has seen horrific attacks and human rights abuses as Israel’s bombardment of Gaza intensifies, following Hamas’ attack and kidnapping of Israeli citizens on Saturday 7th October.

Upward of three thousand Palestinian civilians have been killed, with sources estimating almost half of fatalities being women and children, and many thousands more injured and without access to water, food or fuel.

Gaza’s already under-resourced health system is under intense pressure with hospitals coming under fire, overcrowding leaving patients suffering on the floor, and a severe lack of essential equipment. We know health workers themselves are also among the fatalities of targeted attacks on hospitals.

Health workers must take a stand against the violence and against the targeting of health infrastructure in clear breach of international law. It is vital that we come together to show the UK government that it must end its complicity and do all it can to bring about a ceasefire!

Know your rights: Read this information from Netpol on marching.

Find details for how to get involved in the health-worker blocs below. These health blocs have been coordinated by health workers in the movement for health justice.

If you are interested in organising a health workers bloc at a solidarity demonstration near you, in a location not listed below, get in touch: office@medact.org!

London

We’ll be joining a health workers bloc at the National March for Palestine – Stop the War on Gaza!

When: 11:30am, to join the main demonstration at 12:00pm

Where: Marble Arch Fountains, Marble Arch, London – (map)

Wear: If you feel comfortable, wear things that identify you as a health worker, scrubs, stethoscope etc. The current forecast is cold and clear so dress warmly.

Remember: wear sturdy shoes and bring snacks, water and a fully charged phone.

Join the WhatsApp broadcast group:

Join group 1 (this group is now full!)

Join group 2 (use this one if you can’t join 1!)

If you’d like to buddy with someone else coming on the demo, or you just want to have a chat beforehand, let us know at jamesskinner@medact.org.

Sheffield

When: Saturday 21st Oct, 12pm

Where: Sheffield City Hall, S1 2JA

Point of contact: Jordi – jordilopezbotey@medact.org (get in touch to join the WhatsApp group!)

North East

When: Saturday 21st Oct, 12pm

Where: BBC Newcastle Broadcasting House, Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4NS

Point of contact: Kate – katebernard@medact.org (get in touch to join the WhatsApp group!)

Glasgow

When: Saturday 21st Oct, 2pm

Where: Buchanan Steps, 229 Buchanan St, Glasgow, G1 2NG

Point of contact: Marina – marina.politis@gmail.com (get in touch to join the WhatsApp group!)

Leeds

When: Saturday 21st Oct, meet at 12pm

Where: JD Sports Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6HFMarch at 12.30 to BCC Yorkshire, St Peter’s Square, Leeds, LS9 8AH

Point of contact: Emily – Escott.emilyj@gmail.com (get in touch to join the WhatsApp group!)

Medact Sheffield meeting
2023-12-07 19:00 - 20:30
Join Medact Sheffield for their last meeting of 2023 to meet group members old and new, catch up on current campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Heath for a Green New Deal and reflect on the last year of working together.

This meeting will be hybrid with the option to join in-person at a group member’s home in Upperthorpe. Contact the group if you’d like to attend in-person to get the address, or to get the Zoom link for joining online. Email sheffield@medact.org, and subscribe to the mailing list for future updates on group meetings and activities.

Medact Sheffield group meeting: April
2024-04-04 19:00 - 20:30
The Sheffield group come together monthly, alternating between the first Tuesday or Thursday of the month. Meetings are hybrid. Medact Sheffield are organising locally on the Patients Not Passports campaign, seeking to end the Hostile Environment in the NHS. The group are also organising for climate and health justice as part of the Health for a Green New Deal network. All are welcome. Please sign up to the mailing list to join the group and get the details for the next meeting.

Medact Sheffield group meeting: May
2024-05-07 19:00 - 20:30

Medact Sheffield group meeting: June
2024-06-06 19:00 - 20:30

Medact Sheffield: NHS Borderlands screening & discussion
2024-12-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Broomhall Community Centre, Broomspring Lane, Sheffield, S10 2FD
Many of us grew up feeling proud of the NHS, our universal and free healthcare service. Sadly, the NHS has become part of the hostile environment imposed on migrants via the levying of exorbitant financial charges for certain patients accessing basic, or life-saving care. The scapegoating of marginalised people for the systemic problems within our NHS is not something we should accept.

The national Patients not Passports (PNP) campaign has recently created a bank of online resources aimed at raising awareness of charging patients from outside the UK. This toolkit will equip those who work closely with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers with the necessary information to resist NHS migrant charging policy and stop patients from being denied healthcare.

We want to raise awareness of this new resource and share it within Sheffield and South Yorkshire. We also want to build on the vibrant group of people in Sheffield who raise awareness of this injustice, help support those who are denied access to care because of their immigration status, and pressure politicians to change this cruel system.

Join us for a screening of the brilliant NHS Borderlands short film, hear from Sheffield residents who have personal experience of the hostile environment in the NHS, discuss actions we can take (such as accessing the PNP toolkit) and enjoy food together.

We will be at the Broomhall Community Centre on Thursday the 12th of December at 7pm. Food will be provided around 8pm. Free entry, anyone welcome!

Please register to help us estimate numbers! If you have any questions, please get in touch: sheffield@medact.org

Medact Sheffield: New members lunch & walk
2025-01-12 13:00 - 15:00 | The Lescar, 303 Sharrow Vale Road, Sheffield, S11 8ZF
Medact Sheffield looks forward to welcoming members new and old at the start of January to join us in The Lescar for some food, followed by a walk in Endcliffe park (weather permitting).

This will be a great opportunity for new members to meet each other and learn more about Medact. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to deepen your involvement, we’d love for you to join us.

The park has good paths accessible for those with mobility needs and prams, children welcome.

Please register below:
