Hospital campaigners to return to Stafford over NHS crisis

Members of the Support Stafford Hospital (SSH) group have chosen to join national health rallies around the country over rising pressures at hospitals including County Hospital and Stafford, Royal Stoke.

But on February 3, demonstrators will return to Market Square in the town centre where tens of thousands of people famously protested in 2013 and 2014 to fight services being stripped out of the then Stafford Hospital.

Dozens of people attended a meeting at Stafford Rangers Football Club last week where it was decided they were to hold a rally.

It will coincide with a national protest in London but the SSH group declared they were keen to hold a local event to show staff at the county’s hospitals that ‘they have not been forgotten’.

More than 60 people have declared on social media they are attending the demonstration already while nearly 200 more have expressed an interest in going.

Julian Porter, a member of SSH, said: “We had a public meeting and all of these people turned up. I wondered whether people had become tired of it all, but they aren’t.

“People are angry and upset. Now it is their grandmothers and mothers who are not been cared for properly.

“The group decided they want to do something local to show support for the staff. Last year we attended events around the country in London and Manchester and we still will, but we wanted to show staff at County Hospital and Royal Stoke that they have not been forgotten.”

Mr Porter, aged 50, from Stafford, said that he personally had been ‘re-energised’ after seeing the level of pressure Royal Stoke was under first-hand having attended with his wife, and fellow campaigner, Cheryl, earlier this month.

He added: “When we were there, there were 137 patients, every corridor was full with trolley beds, ambulances were left waiting.

“When you see it first-hand I just thought we have got to do something.”

People have been asked to attend the demonstration from midday.