NHS workers will be marching in solidarity to demand a pay rise they say they were denied last year by the Government during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Holly Turner, a nurse who works at Colchester Hospital and other health facilities in Essex, is organising the Colchester demonstration as part of a national set of protests due to take place on Saturday, July 3.

The day of protesting has been called by Keep Our NHS Public, Health Campaigns Together, NHS Workers Say No and NHS Staff Voices.

Campaigners will petition the Government for a 15 per cent minimum pay increase - or an additional £2 per hour.

The action day falls on the 73rd anniversary of the creation of the NHS.

Gazette:

Nurse - Holly Turner 

Mrs Turner, who lives in Manningtree, is a founding member of NHS Workers Say No which has more than 83,000 members.

She said: “We are facing a critical point in our NHS.

“There are 100,000 vacancies with one in three nurses wanting to quit, waiting lists of more than five million and an increase in outsourcing of services to the highest bidder.

“On this 73rd birthday of our wonderful NHS, nationally we will come together to celebrate this institution, and stand together to fight for its future, because this affects all of us.

“Our NHS was built on unity, and it is by working together that we can protect it and keep each other and our communities safe.”

The Colchester protest is taking place at 11am but an official route for the march is yet to be confirmed.

Gazette:

Visit - Prime Minister Boris Johnson visiting Colchester Hospital last week 

Demonstrations will also be taking place in more than 30 other towns and cities across the country at a similar time.

A spokesman for Essex NHS Workers Say No said the public can join in to demonstrate over patient safety, pay justice and an end to privatisation.

They said: “73 years ago, despite a war-ravaged economy, we created the world’s first universal health service, the NHS.

“Now as we battle the most serious pandemic in 100 years, with millions on waiting lists, the NHS is being thanked and applauded - but starved of real resources.

“The truth is the NHS was struggling well before the Covid-19 pandemic, after years of Government cuts led to desperate winter crises and 100,000 vacant posts.”

Gazette:

Protest - Colchester Hospital's grounds 

Four years ago hundreds of campaigners flooded the streets of Colchester to rally against cuts to the NHS.

The march, led by Colchester People’s Assembly, saw a steady stream of about 800 protestors chanting “no ifs, no buts, no NHS cuts”.

East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital, has been contacted for a comment.

For details visit, keepournhspublic.com.