The prime minister has formally apologised for the care scandal at the Mid Staffordshire NHS
hospital trust and announced immediate moves to improve patient care,
increase accountability of hospitals and tackle a culture of
"complacency" in the NHS.
Among
the fast-tracked reforms were proposals that hospital boards could be
suspended for ongoing serious care failures; an element of
performance-related pay for nurses would be introduced; a new chief
inspector of hospitals modelled on the Ofsted inspection agency for
schools; and an inquiry into hospitals with the highest mortality rates
nationwide.
David Cameron made the statement in the House of Commons after Robert Francis QC published his report into the institutional and structural failings in the NHS that
allowed a catalogue of horrific incidents to occur from 2005-2009,
despite complaints from patients, families and staff members.
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