CAMPAIGNERS from Swindon led 250,000 people through the streets of London on Saturday at a march calling on the government to protect the NHS.

More than two dozen people boarded a coach organised by the Swindon People’s Assembly and headed along the M4 to join others from across the length and breadth of the country.

The demonstrators began their day backed by the sound of beating drums, blaring whistles and chants of “Jeremy Hunt, we’re here to say, our NHS is here to stay”.

As the peaceful procession made its way from the headquarters of NHS England to Parliament Square, Swindonians could be seen leading from the front, waving banners and leading a chorus of chants calling for an end to “cuts, closures and privatisation”.

Kate Linnegar, of the Swindon People’s Assembly, said: “150 coaches from across the country brought people of all ages to the NHS demonstration. SPA were very proud to have arranged the coach from Swindon.

“There was a lively atmosphere and a great feeling of camaraderie and passionate speeches from Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell. The most poignant speeches were from NHS staff working on the front line, saying that the crisis is having a real impact on services for patients and staff.

“Some of the people who came were inspired to set up a local campaign group dedicated to helping protect the NHS, which SPA and no doubt many unions and other groups and people will want to support.

“Look at the headlines in the Swindon Advertiser. They tell us that locally the NHS and its supporting social services are struggling to deliver an acceptable and safe service.

“We are told that the Great Western Hospital was at a state of red or black alert for at least 21 consecutive days in January.

“Someone else reported watching a patient die on a trolley in a corridor recently and that patient safety is being hit by our GPs’ workload.

“The government will not admit that this is caused by underfunding and staff shortages; they have blamed the junior doctors, followed by the GPs, then the patients for going to A&E unnecessarily and finally migrants.

“These are tactics to turn our attention away from their dismal failure to fund and keep safe our NHS.

“We care about our NHS and are worried about future services. This government will continue to take it all away unless we kick up a stink.”

Banners and placards made it clear that Kate is not alone in her concerns.

One junior doctor, dressed in scrubs with her stethoscope around her neck, defiantly held aloft a sign declaring “the blood on my hands washes off”.

Dr David Wrigley, a GP and deputy chairman of the British Medical Association council, was among the front-line staff taking part.

He said: “Today’s march is a cry for help for anyone who uses the NHS because it is in such a desperate situation.

“As a doctor I see day-to-day the serious pressures in the NHS due to funding cuts from the government.

“Patients are not getting the care they deserve. We are a country that can afford the funding that is required.”

The campaigners, who say the NHS is at breaking point, hope the march will put pressure on the government ahead of Wednesday’s budget statement.

Dr Wrigley added: “I guess it is also a wake-up call for Theresa May and the Chancellor. We demand they fund the NHS adequately.

“If the Budget does not bring about any further funding increase, there would be uproar.”