Description:Members of the public on a march protesting against the proposed cuts and the downgrading of services at Stafford Hospital. This photograph was taken on Weston Road in Littleworth, an area of Stafford where the road leads directly out of town to the Hospital.
An estimated 20,000 people including a Bishop, an MP and local Council Members took part in the march, which followed an earlier march held in April 2013 where up to 50,000 took part. Both marches started in Stafford Town Centre and finished in the grounds of Stafford Hospital.
The two protest marches were organised in 2013 to save services following the disclosure of major problems (particularly between 2005 and 2009) at Stafford Hospital which led to a Public Enquiry and received enormous TV and Press coverage.
In February 2014 it was reported in the Express & Star that the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust would be dissolved and key services could disappear or be downgraded including the Accident and Emergency and Maternity Units, with the University Hospital of North Staffordshire taking over the running of the Weston Road site.