RESIDENTS have spoken out in strong support of their often under-fire hospital.

Bosses at Stafford Hospital invited those who live in and around the town to a question time event last night.

Around 100 people turned up to listen to an update on goings-on there.

And the majority of them burst into rounds of applaud when it came to praising the care people had received.

The hospital was the focus of a year-long public inquiry due to unusually high mortality rates among patients.

It was also forced to close its accident and emergency department for three-months over the winter because of a lack of suitably-trained staff.

On Thursday it announced that the 10pm until 8am closure is to continue until at least mid-May.

But patients and relatives of those who frequently visit the hospital told the public meeting last night that they believe the hospital is often unfairly criticised.

Stone resident Neil Jenkins attended on behalf of his mother, who has been treated at the hospital for heart problems over the last 14 years.

The 47-year-old said: "I would like to thank everyone at the hospital for the excellent care my mother has received and ask how we should fight back to get over the negative campaign? I think it has been extremely unbalanced and biased against the hospital."

Chief executive Lyn Hill-Tout responded: "There are a number of people in our community who have been affected by what went on in areas of Stafford Hospital.

"We don't want to be insensitive to those families who still feel very hurt about what has gone on.

"It is very difficult because feelings still run very high, but what I do believe is those families just never want to see a repetition of what has gone on.

"We have got to make sure that every time a patient comes in they get the very best care they possibly can.

"We also need to motivate the staff we have got there.

"It is also about working with the community and getting them to understand the services we provide and us being open and transparent about the things we are doing as a hospital."

The audience at the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre was given information about work the hospital does in its cardiology department and how it looks after patients with dementia.

They were told the decision to close the A&E department was a "very difficult" one, but that it was based "purely on the grounds of safety".

Ms Hill-Tout added: "We are really, really keen to reopen our emergency department when we know it is safe."

Stafford resident Anne Andrews also drew a round of applause.

The 70-year-old said: "I welcome the new more open approach which enables everyone to learn from mistakes and try to put in place measures to avoid them in the future.

"I suspect that Stafford is no worse than most other hospitals in the UK now or in the past, but it is just currently in the spotlight."