NHS workers took to the streets of Evesham to make their voices heard over the “crisis” gripping the health service.

Campaign group Keep our NHS Public (KONP) organised demonstrations across the country over the weekend, from Southampton to Sunderland.

Joining the protestors in Evesham on Saturday, January 28, was retired GP DR Sylvia Chandler.

She said: “The removal of bursary funding has led to nurses with thousands of pounds of student debt.

“The Pay Review Body admits that nurses’ starting pay still remains below its value when Agenda for Change was introduced in 2004.

“At the moment The House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee has identified vacancies of more than 50,000 nurses and midwives in England alone.”

KONP organised 26 other events on Saturday with the protests varying in scale, from street stalls outside supermarkets to mass demonstrations with public speakers.

In Leeds, protestors flew banners and held placards that read “underfunding isn’t working” and “where are our new hospitals?” as they gathered in the city centre.

Samantha Wathen, a spokesperson for KONP, said: “This is an emergency response to how bad this crisis currently is and on top of that to show solidarity with striking workers: ambulance workers, nurses and we’re fully expecting the junior doctors to go out as well.

“We’re trying to get the public to understand the reasons leading up to where we are now and the fact that it is not the staff’s fault. People aren’t dying because staff are striking. Staff are striking because people are dying.

“We advocate for having a very well-funded system because at the moment we are several billion pounds underfunded since 2010 year-on-year, and having a fully staffed system as well.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The NHS is and will remain free at the point of delivery to the entire population. Each person is treated based on their need, rather than their ability to pay – this is the fundamental principle of the NHS.

“The independent sector has been used to bolster NHS capacity and ease pressure at critical times for nearly two decades. Our elective recovery taskforce will work to unlock its capacity as we focus on cutting waiting times and giving patients quicker access to treatment and diagnostic tests.

“It is for NHS Trusts and local authorities to decide whether to access support from the private sector in improving patient’s journey’s in hospital and, once they are discharged, bodies such as the Care Quality Commission regulate the private sector where they are delivering care.”