THOUSANDS of people have flooded a British town centre in a demonstration aimed at keeping major services at a scandal-hit hospital.
Campaigners of all ages packed into the Market Square in Stafford for the rally and public march, many holding placards and banners emblazoned with slogans showing their opposition to the withdrawal of services including maternity care from Stafford Hospital.
A public inquiry into the hospital, which was placed into administration five days ago, found it had provided "appalling" standards of care and caused unnecessary suffering to hundreds of patients over a five-year period up to 2009.
Health regulator Monitor has given two special administrators 45 working days to produce a plan for the sustainable "reorganisation" of future services.
The issue is of extreme importance to people living in and around the town and has now become apolitical, according to Sue Hawkins, chair of the Support Stafford Hospital group which arranged the demonstration.
Speaking in the busy Market Square, where supporters gathered ahead of the kilometre-long march to the hospital, Hawkins said it was important to move on from mistakes of the past.
"I think we've got to talk about 2013," she said.
"What happened, happened. The numbers will be debatable but what we've got to do is move forward and look to the future for our community.
"We've got a safe hospital today and we're looking to the future."
She said she hoped the march would send a clear message that the majority of people in Stafford want to retain acute services in the town and that they did not accept the proposal of a downgrade to a local hospital.
"We need to have an Intensive Care Unit here, we need to have an Accident and Emergency 24 hours a day and we believe that's possible.
"We know there have to be changes, we know there may have to be some alliance with another hospital to achieve that."
The march set off from the town centre at around 2pm in blazing sunshine and many taking part chanted slogans, waved their banners and sang songs as they walked.
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