A GATHERING will be held at Frank James Memorial Hospital to show solidarity with those marching against health cuts in London.


The East Cowes event will be held on Saturday, March 4 — the same day Islanders travel with the Isle of Wight branch of Unison to the #ourNHS protest in the capital. 

Under a banner of 'no cuts, no closures, no privatisation,' it has been organised in protest to NHS and social care cuts.

Anyone unable to attend the national demonstration is welcome to join the East Cowes gathering. 

The Frank James event will also celebrate five years of hard work by the volunteers who tend to the grounds. 

Steve Goodman, a member of the Friends of Frank James, said: "Frank James was built to house people and did so for ten years before becoming a much loved local hospital for a century, during which it was supported by the local people it was gifted to.

"After becoming an important part of our health and care service, it was lost to locals when closed by NHS managers and sold to developers, then allowed to decay for the next decade, adding to our shameful and stupid record of avoidable waste, degeneration, and increased expense."

More information about the national protest and how to get there can be found here.