250,000 march against health service cuts as nurses DARK DAYS
It is our NHS. It’s not for sale, not for profit
THEY came in their thousands, united in their desire to fight to save the NHS.
Some had been pulled back from the brink of death thanks to skilled doctors and nurses. Others told how ops had transformed a life previously blighted by pain. They waved placards and filled the air with their chants. Here just a handful of those who attended explain why they felt so compelled to march... The mum of four from Folkestone, Kent, said: “I’m here because I can see the NHS disappearing before my eyes.
“My niece was born last October at 26 weeks weighing 1lb 3oz.
“The only reason she survived is because of the dedication of the NHS nursing staff who cared for her. We have to save the NHS.” The 59-year-old ME sufferer, who travelled from Huddersfield to join the rally, said: “My local hospital has saved my life too many times to count.
“I’ve survived cancer, a heart attack, the list is endless, and the NHS has always been there for me. But now the Government wants to downgrade Huddersfield Royal Infirmary from 400 beds to 120 – we can’t let this happen.” The 29-year-old mum came from Basingstoke with husband Jon, 32, and their severely disabled four-year-old daughter Tabby. A placard attached to Tabby’s pushchair said it all: “The NHS saved my life. Now save the NHS.” Around them the crowd chanted loudly: “It’s our NHS. Get your hands off it. It’s not for sale and it’s not for profit.” The 72-year-old, from London, said: “We have a wonderful service in Camden offering free physiotherapy. Physio is something pensioners couldn’t normally afford, but they can get six free sessions and it saves a lot of pain.
“I fear those are the kind of services that will be cut next. But it will cost more if people don’t get the help they need and end up in hospital.” “So many wards are already short-staffed. If they are going to stop recruiting European nurses then I don’t know what will happen,” said nurse Julie, 56, from West Lancashire.
“There is a recruitment crisis and it is only going to get worse now they have stopped paying for nurses’ training.” New dad, 35, from London, said: “I feel like I owe my daughter’s existence to the NHS. It is a vital service.” Also supporting the rally was actor and TV presenter Jolyon Rubinstein, 35, who says he owes his life to the NHS after he was treated for a perforated cyst. He said: “The NHS is so, so important. Jeremy Hunt is a disgrace. We’re going to lose it forever unless we stand up for it now.” IT sounds like a health service stuck in the Dark Ages with nurses forced to bring torches to care for patients at night.
But as 250,000 people descended on London to stage the biggest protest to date against NHS cuts, campaigners insisted that is the incredible reality.
It was claimed that nurses at Holsworthy Community Hospital in Devon have been forced to check on patients by torchlight because their bedside lights are broken.
They also claim medics use doorbells to replace faulty bedside call bells amid a maintenance crisis at the hospital.
Tory councillor Philip Hackett thinks the crisis is so severe the future of the hospital is in doubt. He said: “I do not believe anyone within the hospital believes that this is temporary.”
Holsworthy Community Hospital is operated by North Devon Healthcare Trust. Director of operations Andy Ibbs said: “We have been struggling over some time now to make sure there are sufficient staff at Holsworthy to look after patients properly.”
Chants
He was unaware of any concerns over maintenance of the wards but admitted: “We all know money is tight in the NHS and in particular capital for doing building works or equipment replacement.”
Among the placards at yesterday’s protest, one held up by a nurse stood out under a bright blue sky and sent a blunt message to politicians accused of killing the service and risking lives with brutal cuts.
It said: “The blood on my hands washes off.”
The words summed up the mood of the crowd as people chanted, sang and drummed their way to Parliament to make Prime Minister Theresa May and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt listen.
Also at the protest were patients who would not be alive without the NHS. Many stood alongside the weary nurses and doctors who saved them.
For hours, social media was bombarded with messages from those supporting the protest.
Many were cancer sufferers too weak to attend. Others were NHS staff tweeting during breaks to offer support.
Placards, banners and balloons called on the Government to reverse £20billion of savings targeted by 2020. Protesters had arrived on trains and coaches from all corners of the nation at first light, some getting up in the middle of the night to travel to the capital. They started gathering in Tavistock Square at 11am and by the time the march set off at 1pm the streets were packed. The route started at the London HQ of Sir Richard Branson’s health firm Virgin Care – which in November won a £700million contract to run 200 types of NHS and social care services responsible for more than 200,000 people. Organisers described the national demo as a rallying call to save the health service as more austerity represents a real risk to the safety of patients and the service. Homemade banners carried slogans including “Where is the £350 million?” and “No to death by service cuts”.
Amid a chorus of pounding drums and blaring whistles, campaigners chanted: “Jeremy Hunt, we are here to say, our NHS is here to stay.”
The chorus was as loud as that of any football match. But while emotions were raw, Scotland Yard said there were no arrests.
Losses
“Whose NHS? Our NHS,” rang out in the area of the capital that is home to the medical profession’s governing bodies, before the marchers set off to Parliament Square. Another cry heard was: “No ifs, no buts. No NHS cuts.”
Andrea English, 42, a senior nurse from Huddersfield, said: “The changes in the NHS are really visible from inside. I’ve worked with community teams that have seen job losses. But I never thought I would see our hospitals closing, which I found out recently was