Patients Association Initial Response to Stafford Hospital Inquiry Findings
Patients Association initial response to Robert Francis Inquiry findings
Strictly embargoed until 1130 24.02.10
Key quotes
“We are worried that we are sleepwalking into a crisis for our elderly population. They are being neglected on an unacceptable scale in our hospitals. We need the public to get behind us and say enough is enough.”
“Time after time senior managers walk away unscathed, only to resurface working for the NHS in another capacity.”
(For our full response please see below)
In initial response to the findings of the Robert Francis Inquiry published today, Patients Association President Claire Rayner said:
“The patient voice needed to be heard in this way. If it had been listened to in 2005 none of this would have happened. But that voice is still being ignored up and down the country today. Our Helpline still receives accounts like the ones in this report on a daily basis. The scale of problems at Stafford might have been unique but failures in essential nursing care are not. We know we cannot extrapolate from our complaints what is happening in every hospital. We know that many people are very happy with the care that they are getting on the NHS but the number of complaints that we get should not be tolerated by such an important national service. We are worried that we are sleepwalking into a crisis for our elderly population. They are being neglected on an unacceptable scale in our hospitals. We need the public to get behind us and say enough is enough.
“The nursing leadership at Staffordshire was deeply flawed. The director of nursing told the enquiry that she didn’t think it was part of her job to go round the wards. We cannot help but wonder how someone with that view achieved that post and what degree of scrutiny she had from the board.
“We strongly support the recommendations for regulation of senior NHS managers. This is long overdue. Stafford has shown that decisions made by these people can have disastrous consequences. We should ensure that the right people with the right experience are in place. Time after time senior managers walk away unscathed, only to resurface working for the NHS in another capacity. Patients and carers are quite rightly appalled by this.
“Whilst we welcome the announcement of a further inquiry looking at the wider picture in Stafford we continue to call for a public inquiry to ensure that these processes have the necessary powers. People who gave evidence in this inquiry didn’t do so under oath and not everyone involved was forced to appear. The chief executive of Stafford didn’t appear – that is outrageous.”
Patients Association Director Katherine Murphy said:
“Before we embark on any of the other recommendations in this report, we urgently need to review the work of PALS in trusts and how complaints are handled. Good complaints handling can help the NHS stop early problems spiralling as they did in Stafford. We’ve yet to see any evidence that the NHS handles complaints well on anything like the scale that it needs to.
“What happened in Stafford should be a wake up call for the government. We hope it reconsiders its relentless drive for trusts to achieve foundation status. We’ve seen here what a disastrous impact this can have on the delivery of care.
Notes to editors:
A further response to the report will be released when its findings have been considered in more detail. For more information and to arrange interviews please contact the Patients Association on 0208 423 9111 or Katherine Murphy on 0777 9004 898.
