Protesting junior doctors were joined by campaign group “Keep Our NHS Public” who flew banners and held placards that read “Underfunding isn’t working” and “Where are our new hospitals?”.
The group’s spokesperson said the protests showed solidarity with striking frontline staff and was “an emergency response to how bad this crisis currently is.”
Junior doctors in England are currently being balloted by the British Medical Association (BMA) on taking industrial action in the coming weeks. They would become the latest NHS group to strike, with nurses and ambulance workers both walking out in recent months.
Joining the rally outside Leeds’s iconic Civic Hall in Millennium Square, Vassili Crispi, Co-Chairman Yorkshire Junior Doctors Committee, told the YEP:
"Junior doctors since 2008 have suffered severe cuts alongside other members of the public sector. Our pay cut of 26.1 per cent means that each year we are working a month for free compared to the year before.
"This is having a massive impact on retention and recruitment of doctors. Last year 10,000 doctors left the NHS and UK with 5,00 moving overseas for better pay and better working conditions.”
Here are some of the best pictures from the Leeds rally.
7. Junior Doctors rally in Millennium Square
Earlier this month thousands of ambulance workers across the UK staged their third strike in five weeks in the bitter dispute over pay. Photo: Steve Riding
8. Junior Doctors rally in Millennium Square
Brian McGregor, BMA Chairman Yorkshire Regional Council, addressed the crowd that had gathered outside Leeds's iconic Civic Hall. Photo: Steve Riding
9. Junior Doctors rally in Millennium Square
Junior doctors were joined by campaign group “Keep Our NHS Public” who flew banners and held placards that read “Underfunding isn’t working” and “Where are our new hospitals?”. Photo: PA
10. Junior Doctors rally in Millennium Square
The group’s spokesperson said the protests showed solidarity with striking frontline staff and was “an emergency response to how bad this crisis currently is.” Photo: PA
11. Junior Doctors rally in Millennium Square
Speaking ahead of the rally, Samantha Wathen from Keep Our NHS Public, said: "“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.” Photo: National World