Hundreds of people staged a rally Wednesday in London to protest the government's policy on the National Health Service (NHS) while showing support for striking healthcare workers.

Marching towards 10 Downing Street, NHS staff, activists and campaigners expressed their support for the country's NHS staff and demanded a wage increase from the government.

They chanted slogans like “We are the NHS" while holding banners that said “Strike to save the NHS.”

They also called on the government to “pay nursing staff fairly.”

Thousands of nurses went on a planned 48-hour strike across England early Wednesday over a pay dispute.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union walked out of 55 hospital trusts across England following a pay dispute with the government.

In a statement, RCN said government officials refused to take part in formal negotiations, “choosing strikes instead.”(Anadolu Agency)