08.09.14
Thousands attend end of 300-mile NHS People’s March
Thousands of people attended a pro-NHS rally in London over the weekend, which was the culmination of the 300-mile NHS People’s March that started on 16 August.
Organised by the group Darlo Mums, from Darlington, the march was a re-enactment of the 1936 "Jarrow March", a protest against poverty and unemployment during the Great Depression.
During the journey from Jarrow in South Tyneside to the capital, protesters went through a number of towns and cities, including Leeds, Sheffield and Leicester, holding rallies along the way. They are calling for the repeal of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act which they say has opened up the NHS to privatisation.
And, over the weekend, police said about 3,000 to 5,000 people attended the rally in Trafalgar Square.
Darlo Mums founder Joanna Adams said: "It's been magic really. You only have to look over there [at the protesters gathered] to see people are behind the NHS and support what we're saying. Profit has no place in public health."
Organisers said 5,000 people took part in the last leg from Red Lion Square in Holborn to Trafalgar Square, where they were addressed by shadow health secretary Andy Burnham.
He said the "Darlo mums" – the six women from Darlington who started the march – symbolise the concern felt by millions across the UK for the future of the NHS.
“Surely even the great Nye Bevan couldn't have imagined a group with more faith and fight for his NHS than these Darlington mums,” Burnham added. “In them, David Cameron has more than met his match and their fighting spirit will give hope to people everywhere that the NHS can be rescued from the damage caused by his government.”
But a department of health spokesman said that the use of the private sector in the NHS represents only 6% of the total NHS budget - an increase of just 1% since May 2010.
“Charities, social enterprises and other healthcare providers continue to play an important role for the NHS,” he noted.
However, Richard Murray, policy director at the King's Fund and a former economic adviser at the DH, stated that the share going to the private sector is rising.
“It's not privatisation in the sense that British Telecoms or the gas industry was privatised. Nothing's being sold off to private owners. It's more like outsourcing, but admittedly, some of that is going to private sector,” he noted.
(Image c. RonF)
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