NTQ! Pods: Thousands protest government plans to close Lewisham Hospital's A&E in London

NTQ! Pods: Danny Boyle sure made the National Health Service look good in his homage to the institution during the Olympics opening ceremony. Yet, under the conservative coalition government NHS funding has also been a victim of austerity.

In south east London, thousands of protesters turned out to show their support for their local hospital in the Borough of Lewisham, which will have its Accident and Emergency Department along with its Maternity ward closed.

The protest was organized by 'Save Lewisham Hospital's A&E', a grassroots group that has been holding public meetings to discuss the closures. Lewisham Hospital's A&E sees some 120,000 patients a year. The closure is also representative of the thousands of cuts that the NHS has faced, which is ultimately leading towards a significantly more privatized healthcare system.

While we Americans are just started to get more equitable healthcare, our British cousins are fighting to keep their healthcare system out of the hands of for-profit companies.

NTQ!'s Heather Turner reports from London.

NTQ! Pods: Mass arrests during London's Critical Mass ride near Olympic Stadium

Pictured: Pavel Gaik, standing with a borrowed bike.

NTQ!'s Heather Turner speaks with Pavel Gaik, who was one of nearly 200 cyclists kettled and detained on Friday night outside of the Olympic Stadium as the opening ceremony unfolded. The cyclists were part of "Critical Mass," a cycling event that is held monthly in London and in hundreds of cities and towns across the globe. When some two hundred cyclists approached the Olympic Stadium, they were met by London's Metropolitan Police and transport police. The Critical Mass cyclists were kettled for hours and later detained on buses. Police later charged three of the cyclists with various crimes including assaulting a police officer, according to the Guardian. Pavel Gaik was one of the one hundred and eighty two cyclists who were detained and had their cycles confiscated.