Medact directs our capacity and strategy into four programme areas, led by campaigners, focusing on campaigns that demand change at a national level; and local groups of health workers organising in their workplaces and communities to affect change in towns and cities. For several years, local Medact groups across the country have sought to concentrate on more than one of Medact’s campaigns simultaneously. In this blog, Ben Eder, our longest-serving Movement Organiser, shares some reflections on the challenges of working on multiple campaigns, and gives learning-informed guidance on when it ca ..read more

Over 2 million people in the UK live with black mould in their homes. This is causing serious health problems, with the most severe cases resulting in death. As part of the Homes for Us alliance, we have released a new short documentary, ‘Mould is Political’. Produced by tenants and health workers fighting for healthy homes, it demonstrates how black mould is impacting people’s lives and health. On March 13th, the Homes for Us alliance projected clips from the documentary onto Parliament to make our demands clear. Please share the video as widely as you can! Insecure, unsafe and unaffordable ..read more

On Friday March 1st, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a press conference to speak on what he described as the “shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality.” According to the PM, “(t)here are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.” Sunak paints a picture of Britain as a country overrun by violent Islamist extremism, following Islamophobic claims made earlier that week by a Conservative MP of “no-go areas” patrolled by Muslim gangs. He weaves this depiction together in direct reference to the hundreds of thousands of UK residents from all walks of life who have expressed ho ..read more

On Saturday 10th February, members of Medact Bristol, complete with scrubs and stethoscopes, set up a “transport clinic” outside Kingswood shopping centre, joined by local campaign groups “Kingswood Climate Action”, Reclaim Our Buses and the West of England Mobility Hub. Our stall was designed to look like a medical clinic aimed to highlight the links between public transport and health. The proposed treatment? Public control of buses. We invited members of the Kingswood community to explore their experiences of Bristol buses and discuss the possibility of bus franchising, which would help to ..read more

About the prize The Holdstock-Piachaud Essay Prize was set up to encourage students to explore the themes covered by the journal Medicine, Conflict and Survival, in memory of Douglas Holdstock and Jack Piachaud who were for many years inspirational editors of the Journal. We are keen to receive essays that explore insights, concerns and original perspectives on issues relevant to the aims of the journal, from students who will be shaping the future. We encourage you to base your argument on relevant literature and to develop it drawing on your own experience and reflections. The Holdstock ..read more

As health workers, we are responding to the call from our colleagues in Palestine for us to stand with them in solidarity. Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people, and we have a responsibility to act. More than ten thousand Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza in the last month: all while the UK government continues its unfettered support for the ongoing violence.  We are calling for the UK government to: demand an immediate ceasefire and end to the blockade impose an immediate two-way arms embargo on Israel  demand an end to the occupation of Palestine ..read more

In recent days, Israel’s bombardment and blockade of essential services to Gaza has continued, dramatically worsening an already horrific humanitarian and health crisis in Palestine. The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has exceeded 3,300 and Palestinians in Gaza are currently facing a health crisis of catastrophic proportions. As health workers, and a movement committed to health justice, we must do everything we can to end this humanitarian crisis.  Attacks on health facilities: There have been at least 57 attacks on health care facilities during Israel’s bombardment, according to ..read more

In response to the recent transphobic comments made and policies discussed at the Conservative Party Conference 2023, Medact expresses its solidarity with trans people in the UK and globally by signing on to this statement by the National Survivors User Network (NSUN). This government claims to speak on behalf of healthcare workers – but we denounce this and recognise the rights of trans people to access patient centred healthcare in settings which best align with their gender.We have signed as an organisation, but Medact members and other health workers can also add their support as individua ..read more

Over the last few days, we have witnessed horrific escalations of violence unfold in the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza and the West Bank and Israel. Though the situation is still unfolding, as a movement for health justice – working towards guaranteeing health through peace – we are amplifying calls for donations for vital medical humanitarian aid, and directly calling for the UK government to act to prevent further loss of life, and bring about a just end to violence. Since the start of its attack on Saturday, Hamas fighters have killed at least 1200 according to Israeli authorities ..read more

More than 100 medical journals including Lancet, the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association have collaborated on a joint statement, calling for urgent steps to decrease the growing danger of nuclear war and to move rapidly to the elimination of nuclear weapons. As the war in Europe passes 550 days, and tensions rise in the Korean peninsula, the risk of escalation to the use of nuclear weapons is very real.   Medact member Dr Andrew Haines supported the coordination of this powerful editorial, co-authore ..read more