TWO months after being vindicated over its claims about substandard care at a Staffordshire hospital, campaign group Cure The NHS continues to fight for a full probe into what went wrong.

Stafford General Hospital hit the national headlines in March when it became the subject of a shocking Healthcare Commission report highlighting multiple serious failings.

The report stated that problems such as low staffing levels, inadequate nursing and a lack of leadership had led to some 400 unnecessary deaths at the hospital over three years.

But that may never have come to light were it not for the tenacity of a group of people, each of whom had lost a relative at the hospital, in a "David and Goliath" battle in memory of their loved ones .

Cure The NHS formed in early 2008 and campaigned tirelessly ever since to expose the appalling standards of care experienced by relatives of its members.

Stone MP Bill Cash who has been supporting the campaign since it formed, has now nominated the pressure group in the Community Group of the Year category in The Sentinel's Our Heroes awards.

He believes the wider community owes the group a debt of gratitude for its work in highlighting the problems at Stafford Hospital.

Mr Cash said: "This campaign is one of the most important grass roots campaigns that we have witnessed.

"They were up against enormous odds.

"They have taken on the authorities on behalf of the bereaved and in the public interest.

It's a true case of David and Goliath.

"Through their tenacity, their dedication and their articulation, they have raised this matter from a local to a national issue."

Julie Bailey started the campaign in the memory of 86-year-old mother Bella Bailey, who died four days after being admitted to the hospital with a hernia.

She witnessed patients drinking out of flower vases and others crying out after waiting hours to be taken to the toilet.

And her experience hardened her determination to see that improvements were made.

Julie, aged 47, of Park Street, Stafford, said: "The group has a small core of about 15 people, mostly elderly, who have all lost somebody.

"We knew we couldn't do anything about our own relatives, and so the campaign was about helping other people.

"We didn't want anybody else to suffer like our relatives did.

"It was really hard work getting started.

"Nobody wanted to listen to what we had to say.

"It took a lot of hard work just to get the attention of the press. Every weekend we were out campaigning, not just at the hospital, but all over the area.

"We didn't think we were getting anywhere until the Healthcare Commission report came out. But then people started to take notice."

Julie believes that conditions have yet to improve at the hospital and says campaigners will not be satisfied until there is a full public inquiry into the failings – a call also repeatedly made by Mr Cash.

She added of the campaign: "We're still hearing from more people.

"On average, we're getting four people a day coming forward telling us about the horrors they have seen, not just in the past but recently.

"The problem is not going away at all."