Manchester demonstrators: “People are dying under these austerity measures.”
By
our reporters
3 October 2017
Paul and Sarah attended the People’s Assembly protest from east London, along with around 40 other workers.
Paul said, “We are newly qualified nurses. During our training over the last three years, we have been to various wards across London so we have seen the devastation that has occurred because of the cuts and privatisation.
“We are here today because we want the Tories out. They want an American-style health system and what they can’t privatise, they’ll cut.”
Paul had worked at Bart’s hospital, “which has a huge Private Finance Initiative (PFI) debt—it’s the most expensive hospital project in the history of PFI. To pay the increased debt they cut back on the nurses and its caused all sorts of problems. It means ultimately that our patients are in danger, their food is getting cold, and their medication is not getting to them on time. It’s demoralising and so consequently it’s no wonder that we need so many nurses.
“We are starting out on a new career, but all we see is constant heartache. We work with mental health patients and if anything they are suffering even more.”
Paul agreed with WSWS reporters that the Labour Party was instrumental in pushing through privatisation in the health service when in power from 1997-2010. He said, “During the Blair years, what [ex Tory Prime Minister John] Major started with the market in the health services and then with the PFI’s, Blair and Brown continued.”
Sarah said, “What we are seeing with all the austerity measures is that people’s lives are not being valued. Look at Grenfell, the fact that fireproof cladding would have cost just a bit more money but they…