Campaigners gathered at events across the North East as part a national day of action to protest against against the Health and Care Bill.
Called 'Keep Our NHS Public', it involved a coalition of different groups and trade unions who say the government is using the bill to push through a major restructuring of the NHS.
They say if passed, the changes are likely to lead to more privatisation, additional cuts, limited access to treatments and more cronyism.
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One of the events in the North East which took place on Saturday was held at Tynemouth where campaigners gathered to form a heart on the beach in the middle of which was raised placards reading 'SOS NHS'.
Jude Latham, Keep Our NHS Public North East coordinator, said it was a fun event but with a serious message.
"It was a really enjoyable event to organise which generated a lot of interest," she said. "It's late in the day regarding the bill but we can still try and change things and we want as many people as possible to sign up."
Jude urged people to visit the SOS NHS website and sign their petition.
There were also events at the Monument in Newcastle and on Seaburn beach in Sunderland.
The contentious Bill is due back before Parliament on Tuesday, March 1. It was first introduced in the House of Commons in July last year with reforms set to come into effect in April 2022.
Critics warn that it will make years of underfunding, understaffing and privatisation much worse. They claim people will be made to pay for their health care and more private companies will take over health services and be able to make decisions on budgets.
The Bill also caps adult social care costs at £86,000, a move that has been condemned for protecting the rich while hitting the poor.
The event at Tynemouth saw entertainment provided by local musicians Pete Shaw and Jimmy Ince as well as poets Harry Gallagher and Joan Hewitt.
Joan read a poem by the children’s author and poet Michael Rosen who was in a Covid coma for months in an intensive care unit.
When he woke, he found the nurses had kept a daily Patient Diary for him. This and the care shown him during a long recovery left him with enormous gratitude to NHS staff.
The NHS was created in 1948 to provide a comprehensive health care service with access to healthcare based on need.
C ampaigners said it was the 'very essence of a caring society' – but the 'fundamental founding principle is now under threat'.
Responding nationally to the day of action, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are grateful to our hard-working NHS staff for keeping services running and seeing thousands of people a day last month.
“We have set out our plan to tackle the Covid-19 backlog and deliver long term reform, backed by our record investment of £8billion over the next three years.
“This is on top of £2billion to recover from the pandemic this year and an extra £5.9billion of capital funding to support recovery, diagnostics and technology over the next three years.”
