Tens of thousands of desperate patients and medics will descend on the capital tomorrow to protest at the state of the NHS.
They will highlight a decade of underfunding under the Tories which has plunged the service into its worst crisis in its 75-year history.
It comes amid record waits for operations, A&E care, 999 call-outs and GP and dentist appointments.
Author and comedian Adam Kay, a former junior doctor, said: “It’s no secret the NHS is in crisis.
“If we don’t back staff and support the strikes, we are resigning ourselves to the inevitable decline and destruction of the service.
“If you stood outside your front door banging a pan during Covid, get yourself down to Whitehall this weekend and show the Government how much we care about the people who care for us.”
Protesters will be bused in from across the land to the march, which is followed by a rally at Whitehall.
Speakers will include the British Medical Association’s council chair Professor Philip Banfield, cross-party MPs and leaders of trade unions Unite, Unison and GMB.
The SOS NHS event comes amid more strikes from junior doctors next week after walkouts by nurses and paramedics. A decade of below inflation pay awards have contributed to an unprecedented staffing crisis. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimated winter delays in A&E were causing 300-500 extra deaths a week.
NHS England disputed this figure.
The last major NHS protest in London was at the time of its 70th birthday in 2018.
- Thousands of operations face being axed next week as junior doctors go on strike, NHS England has warned.
'We must all stand united'
Nurse Holly Turner , from Essex, said: “The decimation of our NHS has been clear for all to see.
“Staff are working weeks of unpaid overtime every year, skipping breaks and selling back annual leave just to make ends meet.
“Is this how society wants to treat the very people who are caring for our most vulnerable?
“We need investment in staff and services which will bring us back to safety, we need a health service which is fit for all and remains free at the point of access.
“I will be marching. We are all NHS nurses and we believe things can change, but we have to stand united to achieve that.”
'Little change to see my GP'
Linda Laurie , from Newham, East London, said: “Despite having two long-term chronic conditions, making a face-to-face appointment with a GP is now almost impossible.
“I broke my arm three years ago and was in unbearable pain, a GP would not visit me at home.
“I almost always see locum GPs. I visited my surgery three times with a broken ankle but was told to keep it elevated. Eventually I went to A&E and was treated as an in-patient with intravenous antibiotics.
“GP receptionists’ standard response to urgent enquiries, is to go to A&E. Could this be why A&E units are so crowded?”
Unprecedented crisis of low morale
- Comment, by Dr Tony O’Sullivan, Co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public
There is a tragedy unfolding before our very eyes.
An estimated 500 avoidable deaths take place every week on the NHS emergency pathway and the Government is 100% to blame.
They must act now to invest properly in the NHS after 13 years of running it down and preferentially funding private hospitals.
In all my years as an NHS doctor, I have never seen such a crisis of low morale amongst health staff. They must pay NHS staff properly now and repair this current crisis.
We stand by all NHS staff making the difficult decision to take strike action. They deserve pay justice and they are fighting not just for themselves but for the entire future of the NHS.
Where to protest
Noon: Rally starts opposite Warren Street Tube in Central London
1pm: March leaves
2pm: March starts to arrive at Whitehall
2:30pm: Speeches
4pm: Event closes
