The message from NHS campaigners at the weekend was people must fight to save their health service.
Activists gathered by the Countess of Chester Hospital before marching to The Cross in the city centre where speakers addressed the crowd on a rainy Saturday.
The rally was part of a national day of action under the banner ‘NHS in Crisis – Fix it now!’ with events across the country including a mass demonstration in London.
Labour shadow health minister Justin Madders, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, told Chester campaigners under-investment since 2010 had resulted in a staffing crisis with a shortfall of 40,000 nurses.
He said: “I don’t for one minute blame the doctors and nurses and the porters and the cleaning staff and everyone who works for the NHS.
“They are doing heroic work despite the pressures being put on them. It’s only because of their goodwill this crisis has not become a catastrophe.”
Mr Madders said the Health and Social Care Act 2012 under David Cameron had forced NHS organisations to hold expensive tendering exercises that had wasted millions of pounds and let in the private sector.
“Virgin Care have now got their hands on health services and they have the temerity to sue the NHS when they don’t get what they want.”
He dismissed out of hand the argument the country could not afford the National Health Service saying it simply came down to ‘a political choice’ and Labour would invest in the NHS.
Many speakers raised concerns about an NHS restructuring that will usher in ‘Accountable Care Organisations’ (ACOs), an idea imported from the US.
The stated aim is to integrate health and social care across a health region but ACOs have been portrayed by critics as ‘a Trojan horse for privatisation’ because the job of running these organisations would also go out to tender.
Speaker Nigel James, from the Socialist Health Organisation, said although the idea of integrating health and social care sounded good in principle there would be a ‘tight’ budget.
“When the money has been spent there will be no more. So the NHS will no longer be there for need, it will be there on a shoestring."
Holding up a Virgin logo, he continued: “And as a result of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act new organisations are open to tender. So then you get people like Virgin who come along and tender for health and social care services much like they tender for the railways.”
Mr James suspects the long term aim is to create an American-style insurance system where anyone who can afford it would be expected to buy health insurance otherwise they would only be entitled to a basic service.
Calling for the NHS to be brought back under public control, he said: “We have to raise our voices otherwise we will be walked all over.”
Junior doctor Seth Horsu, who addressed the rally, was also worried about ACOs: “We have to fight now to prevent these privatisations. We might see what is being done now as little things, little changes that are happening, but when they snowball, by the time we realise what is happening, it’s too late.”
Campaigner Felicity Dowling, a former Liverpool city councillor, from Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital, said: “We have got to set about saying why we want the NHS and building a mass campaign to make sure that we are in every area.”
As the sixth wealthiest economy on the planet, Britain could afford the NHS which should be for everyone, she argued.
“For the babies, for mothers, for the elders, for employed people, retired people, carers – everybody, regardless of class or creed. So when you turn up at the doctor’s you get treated as a patient and not looked at according to your money or your status,” she said.
