Star date: 6th October 2015

TORY DELEGATES FORCED TO WALK NHS GAUNTLET OF NOISE

NHS campaigners promised a `wall of sound' at their Conservative Party Conference protest this afternoon and, sure enough, after a march through Manchester town centre, Tory delegates were treated to an ear splitting cacophony of drums, whistles, sirens and chanting.

At one point, police reinforcements were brought in to make a channel for delegates to escape the Conference centre as they were subjected to the wall of sound and some very threatening dancing.

Full details here...

They danced, they whistled, they banged drums, let off sirens and chanted to let Conservative Party delegates know that the NHS Is Not For Sale. As police snipers watched from a nearby rooftop and extra police were drafted in to form a cordon around a side entrance to the Conference centre, over three hundred people made good on their promise to form a `wall of sound'.

Filling the street, hanging banners over the Conference perimeter fence and standing on bollards to wave placards at smirking Tories beyond, this was definitely the most noisy demo yet. Indeed, at one point police had to form a channel down the street for delegates to escape the Conference confines, many of them covering their ears as they left.

The wall of sound protest was preceded by a rally at Central Hall on Oldham Street this morning, where the audience heard that in one hospital funding is so scarce, management was down to its last two reams of paper to send out appointment letters to patients.

After the rally, addressed by Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, and UNISON's Karen Reissmann amongst others, campaigners marched through Manchester City Centre, led by the 38 Degrees Save The NHS `ambulance', to the Conference where the loud protest began.

"I'm here today to try and save the NHS because what the Tories are doing is absolutely disgusting, they are depriving it of money" said Salford activist Maria Brabiner "They want the NHS to fall flat on its face...It's like they're messing about with junior doctors' contracts deliberately, they know they'll leave and go abroad. They want the NHS to fail..."

Addressing the street protest was a doctor called Zoe who was due to speak at the Conservative Party Conference, invited by a group called NHS Survival to a debate called Is The NHS Safe in Conservative Hands?...except that she wasn't provided with a Conference pass to get in.

"I'd rather talk to you" she told the crowd "What I was going to say at the debate was that what the NHS lacks is a long term plan. We can't keep on with sticking plaster solutions every five years to win headlines and votes. We need to have an independent cross party commission on the NHS to hear from patients, to hear from staff working hard every day and to hear from think tanks and academics; and to make decisions based on evidence.

"When I see my patients every day I look at the evidence, and that doesn't happen with the NHS" she added "The NHS model is failing, it isn't sustainable and patients are coming to harm because of what is happening every single day and nobody is listening to staff on the ground. We need help..."

Loads more photos of today's protest at the Salford Star photo blog - click here

* Today's rally and protest is to be followed up with a Getting Together Against Healthier Together organising conference on Saturday 10th October 10am-1pm at the University of Manchester Students Union on Oxford Road.

Healthier Together is the Greater Manchester re-organisation of services, with the removal of high risk emergency surgery doctors from six hospitals and campaigners believe that the scheme could be a cover for cuts. For further details find the event KONP and Save Our NHS on Facebook