Anger at 'appalling' NHS failings (From Thurrock Gazette)

Anger at 'appalling' NHS failings

1:06pm Wednesday 6th February 2013 in National News © Press Association 2013

Families of patients who died at the failure-ridden Stafford Hospital called for heads to roll at the NHS.

The call came as the head of the inquiry into "appalling" failings at its Trust said there should be a "zero tolerance" approach to poor standards in the health system.

Julie Bailey, head of Cure the NHS, said Robert Francis QC's report would give patients "power" but called for the resignation of NHS chief Sir David Nicholson as well as Royal College of Nursing chief executive Peter Carter.

After the publication of the report, which made 290 sweeping recommendations, Miss Bailey said: "We don't want a bully at the top of this organisation, we want a leader who will inspire and guide the staff on the front line.

"Sir David Nicholson needs to resign today. Peter Carter needs to resign today, he has failed the front line. We want resignations, we are going nowhere. We have lost hundreds of lives within the NHS, we want accountability."

She said Mr Francis' report had not made campaigners angry but added: "Everything in this report is what we need, this will give patients power but it needs a leader to take that forward, and David Nicholson is not that leader."

Prime Minister David Cameron said what happened at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was "not just wrong, it was truly dreadful" and apologised on behalf of the Government and country for the way the system had allowed "horrific abuse to go unchecked and unchallenged" for so long.

Mr Cameron said the report's evidence of systemic failure means "we cannot say with confidence that failings of care are limited to one hospital".

Publishing the 1,782-page report, Mr Francis suggested widespread changes set to affect the whole NHS, which he said had failed to protect patients, and added there was a failure to communicate between the plethora of regulatory agencies and "too great a degree of tolerance of poor standards".

He called for a change of culture, and for breaches of standards to become criminal offences but avoided blaming individuals or "scapegoats" and said fundamental standards should be policed by a single regulator - the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and said the regulator Monitor should be stripped of its powers to award trusts foundation status - a supposed marker of excellence.