Hundreds of NHS workers from 16 different Trade Unions rallied outside Parliament yesterday in opposition to health service privatisation.
United under the banner "NHS Together", doctors, nurses, midwives and support staff rallied in Parliament Square to protest at the pace of NHS reform, financial cutbacks and the government's use of the private sector in health care provision. The protestors were also joined by members of the National Pensioners Convention and the Keep Our NHS Public group.
Staff are angry about the unrealistic financial targets set to them, with some being told to eradicate years of debt in the next 12 months. The staff were also protesting the use of private finance initiatives (PFI) in providing health care, which introduces a profit motive to healthcare provision.
"The tragedy is that the Government risk losing everything that has been achieved in an uncritical pursuit of the market," said a spokeswoman from the British Medical Association, "Provision of healthcare is being tailored to meet corporate demands rather than public need."
