Top award for battling Julie
Tireless hospital campaigner Julie Bailey today becomes the latest Local Heroes winner.
Mrs Bailey, who founded the Cure the NHS campaign, says she is "grateful and honoured" for the award, in recognition for her work in co-ordinating calls for changes at Stafford and Cannock Chase hospitals.
The 47-year-old, of Wolverhampton Road, Stafford, said the recognition made her fight for a public inquiry a little easier.
She said: "I'm just really grateful and it's an honour. It's a real privilege to be recognised, just fantastic. I didn't expect anything like this."
When her mother, 87-year-old Isabella, died in November 2007 after an eight-week stay at Stafford Hospital she began her campaign for changes after being horrified by the care of elderly patients.
Mrs Bailey formed the Cure the NHS group and at the same time she also set up her own business, The Breaks Cafe, in Newport Road.
She would start at the cafe at 7am, not leave until 7pm and then work until 2am fighting for the Healthcare Commission to conduct an investigation into the hospital.
She also providied support to other people from across Cannock, Rugeley and Stafford who had experienced similar problems.
Mrs Bailey said: "I lost my mother and thought something had to be done'
"It's wonderful that people have recognised the work. It makes it a little bit easier to accept.
"It's been the hardest 15 months and I've only just begun to realise just how hard things were."
The Healthcare Commission began investigating Stafford Hospital's high mortality rates in March 2008 and published its report in March 2009. It found that between 400 and 1,200 more people died than normally ex-pected over a three-year period.
Cure the NHS is now campaigning for a full public inquiry.
Mrs Bailey, who has a son Martin, aged 29, and daughter Laura, 19, added: "It's not over, it's all just started over again now that we are campaigning for the public inquiry. It's about justice."
The Local Heroes award, run by the Express & Star, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham Midshires, rewards people who have worked for others or shown great bravery in the face of danger or a personal crisis. It culminates with a celebrity lunch at Molineux in December, when winners receive their main award.
