Campaigners are fighting to upgrade services and facilities at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone.

Residents are lobbying the NHS to improve the healthcare provision at the Radnor Park Avenue hospital and minor injuries unit.

The campaign, revealed by the Folkestone & Hythe Express this week, is being led by members of the WI (Women’s Institute) from branches throughout Folkestone and is supported by the newspaper and KentOnline.

It also has the backing of MP Damian Collins who said he was keen to work with the WI "because clearly they’ve got a lot of good ideas".

The wheels are already in motion with the campaign securing some 300 signatures over the past couple of weeks alone.

The campaign team is preparing a dossier of desired services people would like to see back at the RVH and will prioritise them before delivering it to the NHS in the autumn.

Top of the agenda is to improve the facilities at the Royal Victoria to bring it in line with the services at the new £24 million Buckland Hospital in Dover, which opened in June.

Jill Bexon, secretary of the Cheriton WI branch, said: “Over the past two or three weeks the petition has spread over a wide area and the public and WI members are all signing and also giving us some ideas of what they would like to have installed.

“We will collate these thoughts over the next few weeks to see which ones are the most requested.

“We have one quick survey of all the hospitals in East Kent to see what is available. It appears that RVH has the fewest facilities of all.

“With the size of the population and the houses being built that’s not acceptable.

“That’s why we’ve got the red rag out.”

Services in Folkestone are limited with people being forced to travel as far afield as Margate for specific services such as scans, monitors, plastering after breaking bones as well as care for dementia and Parkinson’s patients and mental health services.

Mrs Bexon said some responses so far included highlighting issues with patients being forced to travel to Margate for a 24-hour heart monitor to be fitted only for them to return home that day to return the following day.

“It’s OK for us because we’ve got a car but what if you need to use a bus,” she said.

“If you break a bone you have to go to Canterbury or Margate or the William Harvey.

“It seems if you have the misfortune you don’t get the plastering there and then and then you have to go back which is not the best of things when you’ve got a broken bone coming back.”

The East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) currently operates the hospital and welcomed the plans to discuss future improvements.

You can read more of Mr Collins' comments and the hospital trust in this week's Folkestone & Hythe Express.

You can send in your letters of support to the campaign suggesting what services you would like to see brought back.

We will compile and deliver them in partnership with the WI.

Write to ‘Upgrade our Hospital campaign’, Folkestone & Hythe Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8JR or email folkestoneexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk

Or email Jill Bexon on kennethbexon@sky.com for a petition form.