Campaigners rally in the rain in NHS plea over health services in Stafford - PICTURES
Campaigners packed into Stafford town centre for an NHS protest and called on the Government to save health services in the county.
Nearly 100 people attended the rally in Market Square organised by the Support Stafford Hospital group.
A Staffordshire hospital was compared to Syria and 'a war zone' by one campaign boss, with another saying the county's health services were being 'dismantled'.
The event coincided with a march in London which saw thousands swamp Downing Street to demand more funding for the NHS.
Support Stafford Hospital co-founder Cheryl Porter – who helped organise the 2013 march in the town attended by more than 50,000 people – urged chiefs to keep health services in the town.
Mrs Porter, 54, said: "We are here to support the national march in London, and to make a stand against privatisation, which is the last nail in the coffin for the NHS.
"We could not get to London so we thought 'let's do something in our town to mark what they are doing there'.
"Towns around the country have done just that – make their own stand in their own squares and say 'we are not putting up with this and you have got to keep our NHS as it is, free at the point of delivery'.
"The people of Stafford are known for their passion about the NHS. A few years ago we had marches here and 50,000 turned out for that, then our children's march had 25,000.
"We know the people of Stafford have passion and we know they want to keep their services in Stafford.
"They are run ragged at Royal Stoke Hospital – their A&E department is just so sad. But there is no need for any of this to happen.
"With the passion that we have got we are trying our hardest to save the NHS."
School support worker Mrs Porter said she had been in Royal Stoke two weeks ago and described it as being 'like a war zone – it was like Syria'.
She added: "Staff were run ragged – but we cannot ask any more from them."
Carole Phillips, 65, from Stafford, was another one of the campaigners who attended the rally in Market Square.
She said: "We still support the NHS irrespective of how much people try to blacken its name.
"But there are less staff now than there were when the Francis Report was done.
"The key criticism in that report was more staff were needed – billions were paid for these enquiries but we have gone backwards."
The Support Stafford Hospital campaign – run by Mrs Porter, Karen Howell and Sue Hawkins – culminated with a 50,000-strong march in 2013 in protest against plans to downgrade County Hospital.
Lynne Warrilow, 46, from Stafford, said: "Staff do a fantastic job under the circumstances and I do not know how they cope half the time – they are only human."
Addressing the crowds in the rain-soaked square, Support Stafford Hospital member Julian Porter said: "The NHS is for everybody but it is being dismantled as we speak.
"It does not matter what political party you belong to – it is happening."
Mr Porter told the Express & Star that the group wanted to thank staff who have battled hard amid ongoing winter pressures.
He urged Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to act to salvage the NHS both in Staffordshire and nationwide.
Mr Porter said: "We decided we would have a gathering in Stafford to show support for the local staff – front-line staff that have been through a really tough winter.
"We just want to say thank you to them and also highlight to the Government they have got to do something about it.
"They have got to stop downgrading smaller hospitals like Stafford.
"This has been led by the people wanting to do something, we have not gone out and tried to create a massive campaign here, yet you have seen the crowd that have turned up.
"It is freezing, it is wet, yet they have turned up and that is fantastic."
Two coach-loads of campaigners from the Support Stafford Hospital group travelled to London to support the national march, which saw thousands of health workers, unions and activists calling for an end the NHS crisis.
During the march in London, people carried placards bearing slogans such as 'kick the Tories out', and 'more staff, more beds, more funds'.
Labour's shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth labelled the current situation the worst winter the NHS had experienced in its 70-year history – blaming Government austerity measures.
