London march to save the NHS, 18.5.13, photo by Dave Carr (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
London march to save the NHS
Several thousand health campaigners, trade unionists and socialists marched from Waterloo to Downing Street, central London, on 18 May against the government’s attacks on the National Health Service (NHS).
Spending cuts, ward and A&E closures, understaffing and attacks on NHS workers’ pay and conditions were all highlighted in the banners and placards of the demonstrators.
Socialist Party members emphasised how privatisation measures, such as PFI contracts, are bankrupting NHS trusts and that the recently enacted Health and Social Care Act amounts to a NHS privatisation charter.
These measures must be scrapped along with moves to make all trusts self-governing Foundation Trusts.
The Socialist Party called for action by the trade unions along with community campaigns – including a national demonstration and a 24-hour general strike – to kick private corporations out of the NHS, and for a publicly owned, fully funded and democratically run health service.
