Privatisation of the NHS and proposed measures by the Success Regime were on the agenda for campaigners in Carlisle.

A band of members of Carlisle Labour Party and health activists pitched up in the city centre on Saturday to shed light on the issues.

They spoke to passers-by about the state of the health service and urged people to sign the News & Star 's Save Our Services petition.

"We desperately want to do anything to help the News & Star campaign," said Deborah Earl, Cumbria County Councillor for Harraby South. "The people who've come down are more than happy to sign it."

More than 3,000 people have now backed the campaign, sending a strong message to health chiefs that people across north, west and east Cumbria do not feel the proposals put forward by the Government’s Success Regime are safe, fair or properly thought through.

Long-standing health campaigner Suzanne Kelsey, who organised the event, explained that rapid-privitisation of the NHS is something she thinks people aren't wholly aware of.

"Privitisation leads to profits for shareholders, fragmentation of care, chaos and poor patient outcomes," she said.

"Locally and nationally I think it's an absolute immediate and urgent crisis people need to be aware of. Waiting lists are growing, waiting time for ambulances, waiting times in A&E, lack of capacity in hospitals and social care is struggling as well."

Craig Johnston, trade union officer of Carlisle Labour Party, said gross under-resourcing is a major issue in Cumbria.

Under the Success Regime's proposals, community hospital beds could be lost as well as maternity and stroke services at the West Cumberland Hospital. Mr Johnston said this adds to a continuing "crisis" at the Cumberland Infirmary.

"That isn't good for anyone's health and it's not good for the stability or security of the local community either," he said.

"I saw some pictures recently in Cumbria of roads covered in snow from Alston down into the valleys, and the reality of it is we're going to have to put patients on pairs of skis or use helicopters to get people down in emergencies if that's needed.

"People in Carlisle are expressing their solidarity with people in west Cumbria who want to maintain the services there, because we can see the reality if we were asked to go the other way.

"I'm very much for sorting out the mess the Carlisle PFI hospital is in and I'm also in favour of maintaining services in west Cumbria and what we've got in the cottage hospitals out in the community.

"That's what the community needs and that's what we as taxpayers pay for."

David Niven, vice-chairman of the local party, added that the chancellor's Autumn Statement was a "missed opportunity" to address the lack of funding in the NHS and adult social care which he said is in "chaos".

"Over the winter the NHS is probably going to be under more pressure and I think the deterioration under the Tories is going to tell. We need that extra funding and we also need to start eliminating the privitisation which is damaging the NHS's ability to deliver for the people of Britain," said Mr Niven.

With just three weeks until the consultation closes, we are upping the ante - asking those who have not signed to do so urgently. And those people who have already signed, we asking them take it a step further by collecting signatures from friends, family and neighbours.

Sign the petition online here.