THE WEST London Council of Action Big Bike Ride to Save Ealing Hospital on Sunday was a great success.
More than two dozen riders with red Save Ealing Hospital flags on their bikes were cheered and clapped as they made their way from Ealing Hospital to Charing Cross Hospital in West London.
Both hospitals are threatened with having their A&E departments closed as part of the Tory NHS cuts and closures programme.
As the cyclists assembled at the front of Ealing Hospital leader of the Big Bike Ride Raj Shergill, a Southall electrician and Workers Revolutionary Party member, said: ‘I made a pledge to do a cycle ride from Ealing Hospital to Charing Cross Hospital to stop the loss of services to the NHS.
‘This is particularly important for local residents of Ealing such as myself who have seen a decline in community services by this minority Tory government. The ride today is to remind people that this is an everyday battle, not just a single day or a single march.
‘We’ve led the Council of Action in pickets every day and every week. We should occupy to stop the closures of our local hospitals. Waiting times and the population have increased, so we need our A&Es more than ever.
‘The unions should stand up and support the patients and not the bureaucracies or the government. They should be organising occupations. They should be organising and fighting more than ever.’
Local transport owner J. S. Bhangu came along with his van to protect the cyclists en route. He told News Line: ‘I’m supporting the bike ride because Ealing Hospital should not be shut down. It’s the nearest hospital to Southall and the surrounding areas.
‘In 2012, Ealing Hospital saved my life. I had a chest pain and they realised I had a heart condition. They saved my life. We have to protect our NHS, it belongs to the people not the politicians. We should occupy to stop the A&E closure and insist the Maternity and children’s ward are re-opened.
‘The government has billions to waste on the HS2 rail line, it should put the money in the NHS. The trade unions should be helping. The nurses are members of unions, they’ve been paying union dues for years. Now it is time the unions came to their aid and organised action to keep our hospitals open for the betterment of our lives.’
Arj Thiara, Southall WRP, said: ‘This ride is all about saving our local community hospital. We’re in an ongoing fight to stop the closure of the hospital A&E and to restore the Maternity and Charlie Chaplin children’s ward.
‘After the closure of the maternity wing – which was closed in 2015 and is now just hired out to film and TV companies for hospital dramas – we have 309 beds left. Under the Tory STP plan, they want to bring that down to 50 beds, starting with the closure of the A&E. They then plan to close the operating theatre and the intensive care unit, which both save lives.
‘We are determined to save our hospital. We are calling on the trade unions to organise an occupation to stop the closure, backed by strike action. We need the TUC to call a general strike to bring down the Tory government and replace it with a workers government that will restore and develop the NHS for all.’
Arj’s wife Pam Thiara added: ‘I’ve come to support the bike ride. We have to keep the hospital open, 100 per cent. We want the Maternity and children’s ward re-opened and we can’t let them close the A&E. It’s too far to go to other hospitals, we need the A&E here. We have to keep it open to look after us. The trade unions should take action.’
Unemployed worker Raymond Crossfield came along to support. He told News Line: ‘I’m determined to keep Ealing Hospital open. I don’t want to see people die because they have to wait a long time for an ambulance to take a child or an elderly person to the next hospital. What they are trying to do here is wrong and barbaric.
‘If we are not careful with what the government are doing we are going to end up in the dark ages.
‘Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals are very important for the local communities. The people have to stand up and say “no we are not going to let you close” their hospital. I’d support a sit-in to stop the closures. The trade unions should as well. They should take strike action and defend any occupation.’
Harjinder Singh, WRP Southall, said: ‘We have to save Ealing Hospital and all the other hospitals they plan to close. The population is increasing but our facilities are decreasing. We have to stop the government cuts. We can’t let them close our A&E. The government is also closing Southall Jobcentre. We have to keep that open as well. All these attacks hurt working class people.
‘The unions must take action to stop the cuts and put an end to zero hours contracts. The government is not listening to our peaceful voices, the trade unions must take action and occupy to stop closures. We need a general strike to bring down the Tory government. We need a workers government that will nationalise the banks and develop the NHS, not close it down.’
Electronics engineer Jaswinder Matharu said: ‘I’m joining the big bike ride, something I don’t normally do, but this is for the hospital. We need Ealing Hospital. The Tory government is closing hospitals. There’s less beds, there’s a shortage of nurses and even doctors are thinking of leaving the service and going abroad. We have to do something to stop all this happening because hospitals are going downhill, the whole NHS is going downhill.
‘The Tories are doing this because they want to say the NHS is not working so let’s privatise. They never wanted the NHS in the first place. We need to organise more marches and protests like this to get the message across.’
Store manager Mohammed Hussein said: ‘I’m taking part in today’s big bike ride to save our NHS.
‘We need to keep Ealing Hospital as a local healthcare centre for the local community. People need to stand together, raise their voice together and save Ealing Hospital. The trade unions should be taking action. They should organise an occupation to keep the A&E open and demand the Maternity department and children’s ward are re-opened.
‘Pregnant women need a local facility, not have to go miles to Hillingdon. The Tories don’t provide anything for the people. They should be brought down. We need a government that looks after working people.’
Teacher Amrit Grewal came along to support the bike ride. She said: ‘We need Ealing Hospital, it’s vital for the community. It’s close and easy to get here, rather than having journeys to other hospitals. The facilities here and the staff are really good and helpful.
‘My mother had surgery here two weeks ago, they were really helpful and supportive and the consultants are really good. We can’t let Ealing close, it covers a large area of west London. The unions should take action – why aren’t they doing anything?
‘My understanding is they support workers and common people like us. They should take action in our support, not give in to big companies or the government. They should be leading an occupation to stop the closures. It’s the same with education, the unions must take action against the cuts.’
Jasmelda Richardson, Homerton WRP, said: ‘I’m here to support the fight to stop the closure of Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals. The health service is very important to the public. When you feel sick you have to see a doctor or if you have an emergency you need to go to the A&E.
‘We have to keep our GPs and A&Es open. We have to have money for important projects like schools and hospitals and fire stations. The Tory government is cutting the money. The trades unions should take action, they should stand up for working people. They should occupy hospitals to stop closures. They should all strike to kick this government out.’
There were cheers and whistle blowing, as well as car horns tooting when the riders arrived at Charing Cross Hospital. Eduard Buhac, a drama graduate from Fulham, stopped to welcome the riders. He told News Line: ‘The bike ride is a good idea. Any sort of protest against the closure of hospitals is good. We have to keep them open. I’d support a sit-in to stop closures.’
Making a speech at the end of the Bike Ride, Raj Shergill declared: ‘Well done everybody! This is just a single day but people suffer every day. So the struggle has to be every day. We have to get rid of the Tory government and save our NHS. This is not the end of the action, we are suffering, we need to occupy the hospitals. The unions are not doing anything. This has to be done by the people who need their hospitals and will fight for them.’