(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Health workers, activists and unions marched in central London yesterday to protest against government inaction over the NHS winter crisis.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by a surge in admissions that has led to delays of up to 12 hours on emergency wards, patients left on trollies for hours and thousands of patients forced to wait in ambulances before receiving urgent care.
Two pressure groups, the People's Assembly and Health Campaigns Together, have organised the rally to call on the government to plug funding and resource gaps in the health service.
Actor Ralf Little joined hundreds of nurses, doctors and campaigners, and called on the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to attend the demonstration as well.
The Royle Family actor, who was studying medicine before his acting career took off, was embroiled in a social media spat with Hunt last year over funding for mental healthcare on the NHS.
Little said: 'I would like to extend a sincere invitation to you to attend, and use this platform to demonstrate that you acknowledge the importance of our previous discussion regarding lack of resources, staff and funding for our health service.
'We are now consistently hearing reports of patients dying at home before paramedics arrive, police cars being used to take patients to hospital as there are insufficient ambulances, or that when patients arrive in hospitals they are dying on trolleys in hospital corridors. Many of us are extremely worried about what this means should our loved ones become ill.
Unite, Unison and the TUC were among the unions marching through central London from noon, before holding an hour-long rally opposite Downing Street.
Cecilia Anim, the president of the Royal College of Nursing, said patients would suffer if urgent action was not taken.
'Staff at every level are experiencing burnout and many of our colleagues are turning their back on jobs they love. It's no surprise that nursing staff feel overstretched and undervalued. There are now more than 40,000 nurse vacancies in England alone.
Sheena Archer, a healthcare assistant, said she was attending the protest because 'morale is at an absolute low.
'We've got to stand up for each other. Patients deserve better and we deserve better too, she said.

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