A protest march against the closure of a cottage hospital is taking place tomorrow.

The Women of Dartmouth and District group has organised a protest march to campaign against the closure of Dartmouth Hospital and the privatisation of the NHS.

It is due to commence at 2pm at Townstal Community Hall on Wednesday, August 29, and everyone is invited to come and support.

People are welcome to join the march with banners and placards and the group has asked for people to wear red if possible.

The march will walk past the Baptist Church on Carey Road, following Brittania Avenue to the Spar shop. Then the protesters will head down Archway Drive and turn right on to College Way by St Clements Church.

After which the group will be walking down College Way to the Ship In Dock Inn and along the Embankment past the Royal Avenue Gardens. The protest will then be ending at the hospital building at around 3pm.

In addition, the group will be at the hospital from 8am on the Wednesday of Dartmouth Regatta and has invited people to chain themselves to the building or claim a brick of the hospital as the campaign group did in July.

A spokesman for the action group said: “We have learnt that the public and NHS staff want our hospital reopened.

“Our NHS staff have been gagged from speaking out and our oldest residents are being treated appallingly with many stories of very senior citizens being shipped out of town to unfamiliar places in isolation.

“These are very worrying times, but the fantastic support and encouragement from the public and protest groups shows that we can do great things when we all come together.”

Save Our Hospital Services will be running a stall throughout the day, gathering further signatures on a 7500-strong petition against the closure of community hospitals in South Devon.

SOHS calls on South Devon and Torbay MPs to speak out in defence of hospital services, and to support the NHS as a publicly owned and provided service, free at the point of delivery and fully funded.