A HEALTH campaigner fears the forthcoming Francis Report will sound the death knell for Stafford Hospital.
Rolfe Pearce, who was instrumental in launching a petition to save the town hospital, said the report would be positive for the National Health Service but could be bad news for the town hospital.
“If there are any issues with the NHS which need to be reorganised and restructured to make it more accountable and more capable that’s got to be a positive thing.
"However, I’m absolutely convinced they are going to use this report as an excuse to downgrade Stafford Hospital and close Cannock Hospital,” he said.
He predicted the hospital’s services will be split and divided among the public and private sector.
“There will be a certain amount of services privatised then there will be a certain amount of the business divided between North Staffordshire and Wolverhampton. Stafford Hospital will remain as a facility under the wing of one of the two.
“The Francis report is going to do good things for the NHS – it’s going to make people stand up and be accountable," said Mr Pearce. "In the past people running the NHS were not accountable.
"Everybody involved in Stafford Hospital has gone on to other jobs.
"It’s absolutely outrageous these deaths happened and nothing was done about it," he said. "Whatever comes out of the Frances report will be a positive thing as long as it’s not used as a whipping stick for all the good things happening at the hospital.”
