The demonstration outside Cornwall’s largest hospital was part of a national day of action against cuts to the national health service.
LONDON: Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday in support of the country’s embattled National Health Service (NHS), which is straining under the weight of winter demand.
Protesters carrying placards reading “NHS not for sale”, and “Hands off our NHS”, braved the cold and rain to demand that the government pump more money into the system, and roll back the influence of the private sector in the public-funded service.
There are 40,000 vacant nurse posts in England, according to the Royal College of Nursing, with 27 per cent more nurses and midwives leaving the job between 2016 and 2017 than joining.
Numerous doctors have taken to social media in recent weeks to apologise to patients, with one emergency doctor in central England warning of “third-world conditions”.
Health workers, patients, union members and activists joined together to demand an end to the “crisis” in the NHS and push for more money from the Tory Health Secretary to fund hospital beds and medical staff.
The march, which calls for increased funding of the NHS, attracted tens of thousands of marchers.
