Campaigners have vowed to fight on to save Portland's hospital beds, following a fractious public meeting on the island.

Some 170 people packed the pews of All Saints Church in Easton for Thursday evening's meeting, convened by South Dorset MP Richard Drax.

Speaking to the Echo before the meeting, Mr Drax – who has lent his support to the campaign against the closure of the beds - said his purpose was 'to explain the facts to the people of Portland," adding that he wanted to avoid a 'political showdown' over the issue.

"I would like people to hear the reasons behind the closure," he said.

Ron Shields, chief executive of Dorset HealthCare, the trust that runs the county's community hospitals, made his case for the closure of the 16 beds at Portland hospital - but faced accusations of misleading statements, and angry calls to resign.

Mr Shields stressed that staffing shortages left the trust unable to operate beds at both Portland hospital and Westhaven hospital in Weymouth. The beds are due to close at the beginning of August.

"We are not closing the hospital," he insisted. "We are just consolidating the beds."

He outlined the plans for the Portland site to operate as a 'hub', with existing outpatient services such as physiotherapy maintained - and even some new ones brought in from Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.

"The closure [of the beds] is driven by the staffing shortages, especially of qualified nurses," he said. "It is not feasible to keep all wards open - that is not the way to run a sensible service." He added that the nurses at the two hospitals did 'a tremendous job'.

Mr Shields also noted that the island's beds were underused, revealing that on a given day the previous week, only three of the 16 beds had been occupied by Portland residents.

However, healthcare campaigner Giovanna Lewis responded that this was because Weymouth and Portland residents were 'scattered all over Dorset', a result of the lack of healthcare services within the borough.

Ms Lewis - a former NHS employee - also argued that staffing shortages were due to the poor working conditions within the service, and called on Mr Drax to ensure that 'top political leaders do more'.

Portland mayor Charlie Flack asked why the decision had been made prior to the result of a judicial review - due to be heard on July 17 - that could halt the move. Mr Shields replied that the review was into the whole clinical services review for the county.

One resident, who gave his name as John William, stressed the importance of having beds on Portland, given the island's isolation.

"How are people going to travel to Poole?" he asked, recounting how he had lost a leg and been treated at Poole and Portland hospitals.

"When I was at Portland, my wife visited every day," he said. "That's not possible in Poole."

He noted that family visits were vital to patient recovery, before accusing Mr Shields of being an 'overpaid fat-cat' - and called on him to stand down. Mr Shields admitted that he was well-paid.

Philip Marfleet, of pressure group Weymouth and Portland Action on Wages (WeyPAW), meanwhile accused the healthcare authorities of committing 'Trumpisms' by ignoring the results of a consultation that showed the borough's residents to be largely opposed to the closure. "Decisions like this erode democracy," he argued.

Portland councillor Sandy West and Weymouth councillor Dr Jon Orrell both pointed out the irony of the hospital closing amid celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the NHS.

Cllr Orrell, a GP, argued that the decision to close the beds was reflective of wider neglect of the borough.

"Swanage had their hospital saved, Shaftesbury had theirs saved," he noted. "Perhaps this is because they are prosperous places, and well-connected? Portland is not well-connected."

Mr Shields responded by saying that the two community hospitals mentioned had never been under threat of closure.

"I'm disappointed," Cllr Orrell told the Echo after the meeting. "They didn't answer the questions. They didn't even try and answer. But we will fight on."

A protest was held outside Portland Hospital this morning (7) - read more here.