CHANTS of "No ifs, no buts, no NHS cuts" filled the air as campaigners rallied in Nottingham yesterday to voice their fears for the future of the National Health Service.
Among the hundreds of protesters who flooded the Forest recreation ground with placards, flags and even a full-sized coffin, was teaching assistant Lucy Fisher, who has cerebral palsy.
The 29-year-old, of Bonniface Gardens, Top Valley, has had five orthopaedic operations on the NHS since 1994.
Miss Fisher, who sometimes has to use a wheelchair because of her condition, says the surgery, aftercare and physiotherapy that she received has given her independence and a better quality of life.
"The NHS has been invaluable to me, it has given me my health, it has kept me as myself.
"It used to be that you were given the care that people thought you needed but now it is just a tick-box exercise."
Miss Fisher's mum, Margaret Fisher, 63, told the Post that the NHS had been like a comfort blanket throughout her daughter's life.
She said: "When she was first diagnosed, that was it, we thought she would be tied to my apron strings forever. But because of the care and support she has received, she is a strong and independent woman."
The rally, which included speakers such as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Jackie Morris, and entertainment from the Breakfast Club band, marked the Nottingham leg of the People's March for the NHS.
The march started in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, on August 16 and follows the route of the 1936 Jarrow Crusade – a protest march against unemployment – to London.
The campaigners plan to visit 23 cities and towns before arriving at the Houses of Parliament on September.
Painter and decorator David Connor, 55, from Sunderland, has taken holiday from his job to complete the full 300-mile march.
He said: "The walk has been hard but then you see people cheering you on and it lifts your spirits.
"The generosity of local people has been amazing. We've been invited into homes, fed and looked after."
GP Chris Udenze, who works at Mdu Surgery, in St Ann's Valley Centre, took a coffin with him to the rally.
He said: "I know it seems a bit of a melodramatic gesture but it is supposed to represent the death of the NHS if privatisation continues.
"Patients are already being affected by the increased levels of bureaucracy brought in by private companies whose priority is to make profit."
However, Mark Spencer, Conservative MP for Sherwood, said that for the NHS to survive, it needed to be constantly evolving.
He said: "The PM has been absolutely clear it will continue to be free at the point of use - but it does need to keep changing."
Graham Allen, Labour MP for Nottingham North greeted the marchers as they arrived in Hucknall at around 3.30pm.
He said: "It's great. Those who have marched from Jarrow are truly inspirational."
Martin Gawith, chairman of independent Healthwatch Nottingham, said: "We understand people's frustrations that they are worried about a much-loved institution."
