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With the NHS brought to its knees by eight years of Tory austerity, millions of Brits are so worried they would dip into their own pockets to rescue it.

In a clear message to Theresa May that people are fed up with her crippling our cherished service, 63% said they will happily pay an extra 1% tax to secure its survival.

It would raise an extra £5.5billion and cost those on the average wage of £27,600 just £3.50 a week.

And 73% of those quizzed in a Mirror poll by ­Survation, would give up an £1 a week to keep the NHS free and out of the clutches of the private health firms circling like vultures.

That would bring in £2.75billion a year.

More than half said they would part with £2 a week.

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A third would pay £5, raising £13.75billion.

It comes as thousands of campaigners are preparing for a save the NHS march in London tomorrow.

Shadow Health ­Secretary ­Jonathan Ashworth said: “This Mirror poll confirms again that the British public just don’t trust the Tories with the NHS.

“Eight years of ­underfunding has left services overstretched and patients at risk.

"Around the country ­brilliant NHS staff are going the extra mile to keep the service running but are being let down by this ­government.”

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Dr Tony O’Sullivan, a retired ­paediatrician and co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public, added: “The essence of the NHS is that it is publicly funded in a ­democratic way through ­taxation so everyone benefits from it at their time of need, and pay for it when able to.

“The public’s ­willingness to support the NHS has never wavered, as this poll shows, and it is evident that the Government’s refusal to fund it ­properly while privatising it is an ideological decision.”

Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb added: “Governments worry a tax rise will alienate voters, but this poll is evidence the public are willing to make a bigger contribution to sustain our treasured institution.”

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The Royal College of ­Nursing’s Donna Kinnair added: “The NHS is buckling under the strain of chronic underfunding.

“There is just not enough money in the system and it’s clear ministers are ­significantly out of touch.

“The public would rather give the NHS £1 extra each week then let the current situation go on for much longer.”

People are so angry at the Tory’s attempt at destroying the service, many will join ­Saturday's People’s Assembly and Health Campaigns ­Together to Fix The NHS march on Downing St to demonstrate.

Would you pay £1 extra a week to fund the NHS? Daily Mirror/Survation

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Supported by the Mirror, it was provoked by the winter crisis in hospitals, which organisers say has “now descended into a perpetual year-round” problem.

Our poll also found 57% of people were prepared generally to pay more tax to better fund the NHS. Even 48% of Tory voters said they would cough up more for the NHS as opposed to 40% who said no.

Among Labour voters, 71% backed higher tax with 20% disagreeing.

Would you pay 1% extra in tax if it was spent on the NHS Daily Mirror/Survation

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And there were regional ­variations, with 37% of Londoners preferring health insurance and only 29% more taxes. In the north, 57% backed taxation and only 11% insurance.

Our survey found 80% of people believed cosmetic surgery should be paid for by those who can afford it.

And 60% said operations to tackle obesity should not be free.

But most felt ­cataracts and hip surgery are among those that should not be means-tested.

The People’s Assembly and Health Campaigns Together to Fix The NHS assembles at 12pm Gower Street, Central, London, WC1. See thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/nhs_fix_it

Combining social care and the NHS will help avoid another winter crisis and save lives

By Andy Burnham, former Labour Health Secretary

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The NHS is battling through a difficult winter once again. Claims the NHS was ‘more prepared than ever before’ ring hollow with patients who had their operations cancelled at the last minute, or waited on trolleys in corridors in busy A&E departments.

Tens of thousands of people are preparing to take to the streets tomorrow to show solidarity and support for our wonderful NHS staff and to remind ministers that we will not accept them being taken for granted.

A winter crisis shouldn’t be inevitable. We should never be close to the situation we continually find ourselves in.

In Greater Manchester, where devolution has given us control of our local health spending, we’re already seeing a real difference.

By bringing social care and the NHS together, we have reduced delayed discharges from hospital by a third over the last year – which means roughly 100 patients a day are going home sooner.

But we can only do so much.

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Few would disagree that we need to find more money for both the NHS and social care.

Some have put forward the idea of an ‘NHS and Care Convention’ to make recommendations on the long-term funding of health and social care.

My worry is that this is a convenient way of putting difficult issues off until another day while the NHS slips further into trouble.

We don’t have the luxury of time to wait for yet another report. Kicking the issue of health and care funding into the long-grass will do nothing to prevent next winter’s crisis, or the winter after that.

I’m happy to put my cards on the table. I still believe that social care should be funded on the same basis as the NHS. This would see a system in which everybody contributes and has the peace of mind of knowing that all of their care needs are covered.

Whatever the solution is, we need it now. Lives are truly at stake and, the longer that we delay this decision, the harder it will be to rescue our NHS.

The NHS needs more money - but there needs to be a serious debate

By Stephen Dorrell, Former Conservative Health Secretary

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There is no doubt that the NHS, along with other public services, needs more money, but we need a serious debate.

Most of us care about our families and our neighbours, and believe support and care should be available to them when age or disability mean they cannot provide for themselves.

We expect our governments to reflect those values in policy.

We all know the number of older people and disabled people is rising, meaning rising demand for health and care services.

Alongside these increasing demands are opportunities to improve efficiency. But we should not pretend improving efficiency is the whole answer. It never has been in this, or any other, country.

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Health and care services account for a growing share of every nation’s economy.

So the underlying challenge to the political class is simple.

Are they willing to allow funding for health and care to grow, not for a headline, but as a long-term commitment to meet the needs of sick, elderly and dependent people?

Are they willing to commit the serious effort required to understand what level of additional resources is needed?

The NHS has been built on a cross-party commitment to giving fair access to high quality healthcare. There has always been debate about resourcing and methods of delivery.

But there has also been a willingness, in all parties, to understand longer-term trends in demand and delivery of care.

That requires a serious discussion about resources and how services need to change to get the best outcomes.

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That is why the NHS Confederation has undertaken a fundamental analysis of long-term demand trends in health.

It will be published in June, as a backdrop for the NHS’s 70th anniversary celebrations this summer.

It will describe the resources required to sustain our health and care services and lay down the gauntlet for politicians.

Do they recognise that demand for health and care services will continue to grow faster than the economy and will therefore continue to take a rising share of GDP? Will they explain how these services will be paid for in future?

Or do they prefer to explain which needs will not be met?

Politicians who do not confront these questions head-on should not – and increasingly just will not – be taken seriously.