The publicity stunt was aimed to raise awareness of Thursday’s public meeting.
Protesters joined forces with London’s ‘Save Our NHS Choir’ in Sutton on Sunday, in the name of rescuing St. Helier Hospital from closure.
The publicity stunt in Sutton aimed to raise awareness of their cause, and of the public meeting they will be holding on Thursday.
The choir, who have already protested against the privatisation of the NHS in Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, and Borough Market raise awareness through a series of singing flash-mobs.
They were also joined by the Fire Brigade’s Union in a show of solidarity against their own funding cuts.
Colin Crilly, from the Keep Our St. Helier Hospital (KOSHH) campaign, was thrilled with the outcome of the protest.
“It was quite a spectacle,” he said. “The fire truck helped a lot and became a good focal point. To be honest it went as well as we could have wanted.”
The protest focused on the one-way system and main shopping areas of Sutton.
Crilly said that despite initially causing disruption, as soon as people realised what was going on they were positive and joined in.
“We got a lot of people honking and giving us thumbs up. Some people even joined in to hand out flyers,” he added.
The situation at St. Helier Hospital has become even more desperate of late, with £219m of investment suspended.
Crilly hammered home his message: “We needed to raise awareness of the campaign and our meeting. I’d encourage anyone and everyone to come along and see what they can do to help.
“We need people from everywhere, not just Sutton – it’s about helping others, not being selfish.”
The meeting will be held at 7:30pm on Thursday evening at the Civic Centre (Merton Council building), London Road, Morden and all are invited to attend.
For more information about the campaign or the meeting on Thursday, contact [email protected].
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