| The People's March for the NHS is following the route of the historic Jarrow March in 1936. The march left Jarrow in the North East of England on 16 August, and is due to reach London, and Parliament, on 6 September 2014. Along the way, the march has been building support for the NHS, joining up with campaigners across the country. The march aims to make the public aware of what the government has been doing to the NHS, including what has been happening to hospitals and health services. Members of the public and supporters can find out more about the campaign, the progress of the march, and register to march a leg or donate at www.999callfornhs.org.uk. The march is drawing attention to the huge changes being imposed on the NHS by the government - specifically the growing privatisation of NHS care and the impact of cuts on the health service, and the marchers are calling for the return of responsibility for delivering NHS services to the Secretary of State for Health. The changes being imposed on the NHS, included in the Health & Social Care Act, Section 75 and more recently Clause 119 of the Care Bill are changing our health service beyond recognition (for more info see our NHS campaigners guide). The speed and scale of the changes is massive. Patients and staff will be the losers. The government is seriously under-funding the NHS at a time when demand is rising, and implementing a very costly reorganisation while demanding £20bn in "efficiency savings", with staff and patients bearing the brunt. The NHS is being opened up to private profit as taxpayer's money intended for NHS patients will be diverted into shareholder profits, with a developing market in healthcare. This means competition not co-operation, while care patients can expect a huge postcode lottery in care provision, increasing costs and health inequalities. No-one voted for these changes - before the election we were told there would be no more top-down reorganisations of the NHS, yet the NHS faces the biggest upheaval since its creation, so big that former NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson said it could be "seen from space". At the same time, public satisfaction with the NHS is at an all-time high - doctors, nurses, midwives, support staff, patients groups and more have all spoken out about the dangers of these changes. The march was organised by the 999 Call for the NHS campaign, which was created by a number of North East women known as ‘the Darlo mums’ in response the government passing the three pieces of legislation mentioned above, which have led to increasing privatisation of the NHS. The march is supported by All Together for the NHS, a joint campaign co-ordinated by the TUC, bringing together unions and campaigners from across the health sector. |