By Vivienne Russell
25 February 2010
The Staffordshire hospital trust that ‘failed to deliver’ acceptable standards of care should have its foundation status reviewed, an independent inquiry has said.
Robert Francis QC’s probe into failing care standards at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust reported on February 24. He recommended that Health Secretary Andy Burnham ‘consider whether he ought to request that [foundation trust regulator] Monitor exercise its power of de-authorisation’.
Francis noted that a change in trust status could divert managerial resources away from urgently needed internal changes, while the loss of flexibility could slow down the pace of improvement.
Although this ‘may well not be the appropriate way forward… the [de-authorisation] option should be kept firmly in mind and held in reserve should the hoped-for improvements not continue,’ he said.
Burnham accepted all of Francis’s 18 recommendations and apologised to patients and their families. He will ask the Care Quality Commission and Monitor for their views on the trust’s long-term financial and clinical prospects.
‘A foundation trust should not retain its freedoms if it is clearly failing patients,’ Burnham said. ‘I will not hesitate to instigate de-authorisation if I believe it is necessary.’
The Francis inquiry heard former patients give accounts of ‘bad care, denials of dignity and unnecessary suffering’. It found the trust’s culture was not conducive to providing good care or a supportive working environment for staff.
25 February 2010
The Staffordshire hospital trust that ‘failed to deliver’ acceptable standards of care should have its foundation status reviewed, an independent inquiry has said.
Robert Francis QC’s probe into failing care standards at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust reported on February 24. He recommended that Health Secretary Andy Burnham ‘consider whether he ought to request that [foundation trust regulator] Monitor exercise its power of de-authorisation’.
Francis noted that a change in trust status could divert managerial resources away from urgently needed internal changes, while the loss of flexibility could slow down the pace of improvement.
Although this ‘may well not be the appropriate way forward… the [de-authorisation] option should be kept firmly in mind and held in reserve should the hoped-for improvements not continue,’ he said.
Burnham accepted all of Francis’s 18 recommendations and apologised to patients and their families. He will ask the Care Quality Commission and Monitor for their views on the trust’s long-term financial and clinical prospects.
‘A foundation trust should not retain its freedoms if it is clearly failing patients,’ Burnham said. ‘I will not hesitate to instigate de-authorisation if I believe it is necessary.’
The Francis inquiry heard former patients give accounts of ‘bad care, denials of dignity and unnecessary suffering’. It found the trust’s culture was not conducive to providing good care or a supportive working environment for staff.
