Oxfordshire: Protesters march in support of NHS

Four hundred people gathered in Oxford's Hinksey Park to protest against cuts and privatisation in the NHS - reports the Oxford Times.

They marched on Saturday from the park in Abingdon Road, up St Aldates and finished in Broad Street where Jim Campbell, the Mayor of Oxford, was one of the speakers.

Earlier this year, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust announced plans to cut 600 jobs and downgrade the Horton Hospital in Banbury as part of a £33m savings plan.

Joseph Richards, 75, from Blackbird Leys, has had to use the NHS regularly over recent years due to heart problems.

He said: "I am here because I am an old-age pensioner and we use the hospitals more than anyone else."

There are also concerns about some sectors of the NHS being neglected.

Dr Beth Rimmer, a GP in East Oxford, was on the march as a mother as well as a front-line worker.

She said: "I am here to raise public awareness about the frightening changes that are happening in the NHS. There are already things that are hard to get in Oxford like dietary and dentistry help.

"I am also worried about vulnerable people - those less able to put their point across and those who most lose out over privatisation. The choices will be made for us."