Cameron in town visit over hospital

David Cameron is set to visit Stafford in the wake of the scandal over the town's hospital.

The Tory leader is hoping to travel to the town on Tuesday and meet with health campaigners including Cure the NHS founder Julie Bailey.

Mrs Bailey is expecting to welcome Mr Cameron to her Wolverhampton Road cafe in the late afternoon - and is hoping that meeting with Britain's potential future Prime Minister will help keep her campaign in the spotlight.

Mrs Bailey said she is worried that Cure the NHS' efforts - together with its demands for a public inquiry - will be "forgotten about" once media coverage of the Healthcare Commission's recent report dies down. As a result, she said support from one of the country's top politicians had to be welcomed.

Mrs Bailey also said she thought Mr Cameron's first-hand experience of the NHS through his son Ivan, who sadly died in late February, would help him to understand the issues at stake.

She added: "I think with him losing his son so recently it's going to be quite an emotional day. I think his recent experience might help him to sympathise with those who have lost relatives and understand the importance of healthcare."

Mr Cameron has previously spoke of his gratitude for the healthcare Ivan, who was six and suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, received. The politician, who stood for election as Stafford's MP but lost to David Kidney in the 1997 general election, has also told of his belief in the future of the NHS.

Providing Mr Cameron's visit goes ahead, he will also be accompanied by Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, who visited Stafford last month in the wake of the release of the Healthcare Commission's report, which told of "appalling" standards at the Weston Road hospital.

On the same day Mrs Bailey and other Cure the NHS members are due to meet with national emergency care expert Sir George Alberti, who is currently carrying out a review of Stafford Hospital's A&E unit.

Mr Cameron, Mr Lansley and other Tory MPs have backed calls for a public inquiry into the hospital scandal but the calls have been rejected by Health Secretary Alan Johnson, who also visited Stafford last month.