UNISON members joined tens of thousands of other protesters in London on Saturday to march for the NHS – “a shining testament to shared endeavour”, as UNISON vice-president Carol Sewell told protesters.
Speaking to the rally at Parliament Square, Ms Sewell said the union is “proud to be supporting this event. Proud to be standing up for our NHS. And proud to be fighting back against the Tory cutters.”
She noted that next year will mark 70 years since the health service was set up by the post-war Labour government.
But “now May and Hammond repeatedly refuse to give it the money it needs.
“They are content to let it be run down; to watch as the waiting lists pile up; to stand by as patients lose out.”
She told the protest that “we have to make the government realise this can go on no longer.
“Our NHS has been there for all of us, and our families, through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad.
“Now is its time of need: the NHS needs us and we cannot be found wanting.”
