Hundreds of people took to the streets of Oxford on Saturday to protest against NHS cuts and its funding crisis.

About 400 health workers, union members, pensioners and members of the public joined forces in a bid to send a clear message to the Government.

Demonstrators, many of whom had not been on a protest march before, had been angered by the growing number of NHS redundancies across the county's hospitals and increased links to the private sector.

Oxfordshire's Primary Care Trust and hospital trusts still face multi-million pound debts and a report last week revealed that up to 64 per cent of community hospital beds could be under threat.

The march started at Bonn Square at noon before being led by a samba band down Queen Street and Cowley Road, finishing with a rally at Manzil Gardens.

Chanting demonstrators waving banners declaring 'Sack Blair not Health Workers' and 'Stop backdoor privatisation' brought traffic to a standstill.

The march, organised by the Keep Our NHS Public campaign and Oxford Trades Council, was part of a day of action across the country that included demonstrations in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield.

Among the demonstrators marching through the streets of Oxford was health worker Mary Akrigg, from Littlemore.

She said: "I worked for 11 years in my job as a phlebotomist in an outpatients' clinic at the Churchill Hospital.

"I am now working in the laboratory there. I had to apply for another job and if I hadn't found that job, I would have been made redundant.

"Staff are treated like a commodity they can move around."

Debbie Hawley, from Bicester, said her department within the National Blood Service had also been subjected to restructuring.

"We are concerned for everybody, not just our jobs but patients."

At Manzil Gardens, union representatives, health workers and campaigners addressed the crowd.

Prof Alison Kitson, a Warborough resident and executive director for nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, said: "The Government has to listen.

"We're not against change but it has to be done together and in a manner that respects the hard work and commitment health service staff give to the community."

Mark Ladbrooke, vice-president of the Oxford branch of the TUC and chairman of the Oxford health branch of Unison, said: "We don't want to go down the route of privatisation. People feel strongly about that and we want to make sure it does not happen in Oxfordshire."

Health Minister Rosie Winterton said unions and health workers signed up to the principles of the NHS Plan, which sets out changes over 10 years.

She added: "If we know that change will deliver better quality care and better value for money for taxpayers, then standing still is simply not an option."