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For 35 years, David Bailey has ­dedicated his life to helping save others – working as a nurse on surgical wards and in an overstretched A&E.

Now he faces his own fight for survival, diagnosed with terminal cancer .

Yet despite undergoing gruelling chemotherapy, David is determined to ‘do his bit’ to stop the Tories “killing” his beloved NHS .

He will take to the streets on Saturday with thousands of others in a day of protest against the Government’s destruction of the health service.

Dad-of-three David said: “There has never been a more important time to stand up and protect our NHS. It is in crisis and I want to do my bit.

“The public needs to realise what’s happening. The Government is killing the NHS and steering us all towards privatisation of the health service.”

(Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror) (Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror)

David works for the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. He did three A&E shifts last week despite undergoing treatment. He said: “I’m not sitting in a corner saying ‘why me?’ I thought I had 20 years left, but I was told I had aggressive oesophageal cancer in October. I was given a year.

“But I’m determined, with the life I have left in me, I will fight this Government tooth and nail. The care I’ve received has been fantastic. I love the NHS and I want that care to be in place for my children and grandchildren.”

He blasted a funding crisis which has cut beds, driven out nurses who have had no pay rise for eight years, and strangled recruitment.

“This Government has a clear plan,” said David. “It’s so important the public join the march.” David has seen many changes in the NHS since starting aged 20 at Stoke Mandeville, Bucks – but nothing as damaging as this.

“I’ve always loved what I do, even now – but it is stressful and at times horrendous,” said David.

“I’ve been a senior nurse, running three surgical wards with 300 staff and a £5million budget – and for the last five years I’ve worked on A&E. Management brought in accountants to improve efficiency. We got no more beds, no more staff, but far more patients.

“Managers and politicians just think a nurse is a nurse. They don’t realise it is a specialised profession. An ITU nurse couldn’t just walk into A&E or a children’s ward. Each role is specific. Nurses need continued training. But they’ve cut postgraduate courses funding by 50 per cent.”

(Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror) (Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror)

He said many NHS services were becoming unsustainable though lack of qualified nursing staff, with 40,000 vacancies available. “I don’t blame the Trusts. I blame Tory policy,” he said.

“This is not just a winter crisis. It’s got worse in the last eight years. They introduce short term fixes, but they can only do that for so long.

“The crisis is not because of an ageing population, that’s foreseeable and you plan for it. It’s nothing to do with immigration or health tourism.

“Immigrants are the bedrock of the NHS, from doctors to cleaners. This is the Government deflecting attention from themselves.”

(Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror)

David pointed to a 23 per cent drop in trainee nurses since the Tories’ £9,000-a-year tuition fee.

“It’s as if they want the NHS to fail. They may say they’ve increased spending, but that’s not keeping pace with costs. There’s been a rise in outsourcing to private companies.

“I think the Tories are making the NHS so awful they think people will be happy when the private sector steps in.

“Jeremy Hunt is a clever man with a clear goal. I don’t think the public are prepared. We could see patients with personal health care budgets.

"Once it’s spent you’ll be urged to get private insurance. If you’re healthy, you may think it’s not an issue. But we all get older and need care. The NHS should be free for everybody.

“That’s why we must all get out on February 3 to show this Government we won’t let them destroy it.”