Campaigners say, 'keep the NHS public', at Worcester event

A group of hardy campaigners braved the biting winds on Saturday and set up stall outside the Guildhall, handing out leaflets and letting people know the dangers they feel the NHS is facing.

Dr Sylvia Chandler, a former Worcestershire GP who helped to organise the event, said she was concerned the NHS could be privatised with the UK ending up with an American style insurance system.

"We held the stall as part of the keep our NHS public campaign, which is a national day of action," she said. "The key issue is the privatisation.

"Potentially under the system of competitive tendering, all NHS services could be sold off to the private sector. In Worcestershire the Patient Transport Service has recently been put into this process."

Dr Chandler said she and her fellow campaigners wanted people to understand the risks and to promote the Reinstatement of the NHS Bill.

"Of 3,494 contracts for clinical services awarded by the 182 Clinical Commissioning Groups in England between April 2013 and August 2014, 33 percent went to the private sector," she added.

The protest comes after the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, announced it could end this financial year £27.6 million in the red – almost three times its initial prediction.

Lorna Archer, of St John's, said she was helping to campaign to ensure the NHS, which had always helped her family would remain in place for others in need.

"We have had real benefits from the health service in crisis times in our family and we think what would it have been like if we were living in America," said the grandmother. "Our grandson had a near fatal syndrome, he really was incredible ill, but he has recovered.

"Our younger daughter was also very ill when she had a baby and the NHS care she had was really good.

"We would hate to think that these things could not have been properly treated had we had more privatisation."