Campaigners marched on Downing Street today calling for the Government to properly fund the National Health Service.
Thousands of protesters braved the wintry weather to demand an end to the winter NHS crisis as hospitals are overwhelmed with thousands left in corridors waiting hours for treatment.
The Royle Family actor Ralf Little joined the nurses, doctors, and activists today after publicly declaring his support for the protest on Twitter on Tuesday.
He shared a picture containing one of his quotes, which read: ‘The NHS is the greatest of this country’s achievements. I recently challenged Jeremy Hunt for misleading us about the crisis in our NHS. #
Campaigners are marching on Downing Street today calling for the Government to properly fund the National Health Service
Thousands of protesters have braved the wintry weather with homemade signs to demand more funds for the NHS and to stop privatisation. One sign, left, reads ‘out NHS, not theirs’. Others, right, have photos of Theresa May with blood pouring from her mouth and the words ”kill the poor” over her face, and ‘Tory scum’ written above it
Here protesters are marching with drums in front of Nelson’s column, filling the air with their colourful orange and grey smoke
The People’s Assembly tweeted: ‘Today we march! Together we can save #OurNHS. For anyone who can’t make it, pls join the twitterstorm & post on Facebook using #FundOurNHS between 12-4pm. Share your stories about what the NHS means to you, and why we need to save it from the Tories’
‘Now we all have the chance to call out the Government’s lies and demand that our NHS is properly funded, properly staffed and saved from the hands of private companies who want to make a profit. Join me on the emergency NHS demonstration on 3 February.’
The demonstration was organised by two groups, the People’s Assembly and Health Campaigns Together, who are calling on the NHS to plug the funding gap.
Little originally trained to be a doctor before his acting career took off.
Last year he became embroiled in a Twitter spat with Jeremy Hunt, after accusing the health secretary of lying about claims he masterminded the ‘biggest expansion of mental health provision in Europe’ on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.
Royle Family actor Ralf Little joined protesters today (left). He tweeted his support of the protest (right) earlier this week, saying ‘Now we all have the chance to call out the Government’s lies and demand that our NHS is properly funded, properly staffed and saved from the hands of private companies who want to make a profit’
Little previously got into a Twitter spat with Jeremy Hunt after he accused the health secretary of lying about claims he masterminded the ‘biggest expansion of mental health provision in Europe’ on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show
Hunt replied to Little on Twitter with a range of statistics to back up his claim, but in a series of 42 tweets he fact-checked them and mocked his use of unverified statistics
The 37-year-old actor then sent a public tweet to the Tory: ‘If I’m wrong, sue me. I double dare you.’
Hunt, MP for South West Surrey, eventually hit back at the accusation and provided a range of statistics backing his claim up to dismiss Little’s scathing remark – and double-dared the actor to retaliate.
Little then responded after carefully fact-checking Hunt’s disputed figures because he is ‘never one to resist a challenge’.
In a series of 42 tweets, he exposed the truth behind Hunt’s figures – and mocked his ability to use unverified statistics to his advantage.
The ‘Fix It Now’ march began at midday.
This woman is holding up a poster with a number of signs on it, including a nursing advert saying ‘we need you’ and a patient safety alert
The demonstration was organised by two groups, the People’s Assembly and Health Campaigns Together, who are calling on the NHS to plug the funding gap
This creative sign shows a vulture hanging above a bloody, tattered NHS sign. Other placards say ‘cut war not welfare’
Despite the wet weather, thousands have turned up to demand more funds for the NHS. This picture shows almost a sea of placards
Labour MP for Leicester South Jonathan Ashworth has also joined the protest in London today.
Tweeting his support on Thursday, he wrote: ‘Join me and thousands of NHS campaigners as we march for our NHS this Saturday in London. We’ll defend our NHS and demand it’s given the funding needed & privatisation ended. See you there! #FixtheNHS #FundtheNHS.’
He shared a video with his tweet in which he urged his followers to join him.
In the clip, he said: ‘We’ll be assembling at 12 o’clock at Gower Street in London and we’re going to be calling for an end to the austerity in the NHS.
‘We’re going to be demanding an end to privatisation of our NHS services. We’re going to be demanding an end to the demoralisation of our staff, because we want to give everyone who works in the NHS the fair play they deserve.’
Labour MP for Leicester South Jonathan Ashworth also joined the protest in London, calling for an end to the privatisation of the NHS
Posting a clip to Twitter, he urged his followers to join him, saying: ‘Join me and thousands of NHS campaigners as we march for our NHS this Saturday in London. We’ll defend our NHS and demand it’s given the funding needed & privatisation ended. See you there! #FixtheNHS #FundtheNHS’
The ‘Fix It Now’ protest began at midday. It was organised in response to the winter NHS crisis which has seen hospitals overwhelmed
The march on Downing Street is in conjunction with local and regional events around the country. (Pictured: A sign at the London rally reading ‘saving lives costs money, saving money costs lives’)
During the march, the crowd heard a mother’s tragic story of her daughter’s death after she had been allowed out of psychiatric care too soon.
The marchers listened as Nicky Romero sobbed while telling the crowd pressures on the mental health service had robbed her of her daughter Becky.
A coroner found Becky’s suicide was linked to NHS failings after the 15-year-old was discharged from a psychiatric ward, despite self-harming on the same day and despite her parents’ pleas that she be kept in hospital.
During the march, the crowd heard a mother’s tragic story of her daughter’s death after she had been allowed out of psychiatric care too soon
The schoolgirl, who died in July 2017, had been bullied throughout her life and was allowed out of hospital when she needed to remain in care, her mother told the crowds.
‘What kind of future will our children have if they can’t get the help they need? If the NHS was properly funded my daughter might still be alive.’
Among the demonstrators on Saturday was Jamie, a disability rights advocate who was attending the march in his wheelchair.
The marchers listened as Nicky Romero sobbed while telling the crowd pressures on the mental health service had robbed her of her daughter Becky
The schoolgirl, who died in July 2017, had been bullied throughout her life and was allowed out of hospital when she needed to remain in care, her mother told the crowds
He was injured in a serious car crash 21 years ago. ‘I owe my life to the NHS,’ he said.
‘There is a tragedy unfolding and the fact is that so many desperate people are traumatised, stigmatised and stressed by work capability testing.’
Save Lewisham Hospital campaigner Tamsyn Bacchus said she feared the UK could morph the NHS into a US style user-pays health service.
‘I have faith, and so do all these folk here, that it’s so important to have the principle of service that is great the point of use so that when you are ill, when your child is running a high fever, when you need the hospital or a doctor you can get them without worrying about having to pay for it’