Campaigners will take to the streets in Bath on Saturday, 26th February against a bill they fear will pave the way for the privatisation of the NHS.

Crowds will assemble by the Abbey in Kingston Place at noon to listen to speakers before setting off on a march through the city centre.

Organisers are asking people to wear blue and bring placards, pots and pans.

A Bath Campaigns spokesperson warned that the Health and Care Bill will strengthen the role of private companies and be “the last nail in the coffin” for the public NHS.

Speaker Paula Riseborough, a former NHS physiotherapist and spokesperson for Protect Our NHS Bath, said her group strongly opposed the outsourcing of Bath and North East Somerset’s community health and care services to Virgin Care in 2017 but the council and local NHS leaders pressed ahead.

She said despite concerns about the firm’s performance its contract was extended for another three years – and then two weeks later it was taken over by a private equity firm.

“This is the slippery slope of NHS privatisation and is taking place across the NHS in England,” said Ms Riseborough.

"Virgin Care was rebranded as HCRG Care Group. It has previously given commitments to honour the terms of contract and said patients will see no difference to services, which will be offered by the same teams. The council is conducting due diligence and looking closely at the contract.

"The demo is part of a national day of action against the bill, which Unite the Union said would “seal in years of closures and downgrades designed to expand privatisation including ruthless cuts we’ve seen to medical and emergency services that have forced more people to pay for their health care and allowed more private companies to take over services and make decisions on budgets”.

Speaker Lesley Mansell, the Unite lead representative at Southmead Hospital, said: “The NHS is our jewel in the crown yet it is under severe threat as it is being dismantled brick by brick. The government’s solution is to outsource it. But this is no solution to the skills gap and lack of staff and beds.”

Bath Campaigns’ four demands to protect the NHS are:

Deprivatise the NHS – public need not private profit

A £20billion ring-fenced emergency funding to avoid collapse

A five per cent annual funding boost for the next decade to return to 2010 service levels

A 15 per cent pay rise for all staff which represents a pay rise in real terms after a 10-year pay freeze and cost of living hikes”