The Francis Report on Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry published.

On Wednesday 6 February 2013 Valerie asked the Prime Minister for patient’s voices to be heard, not just by the front line staff, but also by senior managers following the publication of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry.

Valerie asked:

“I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and I am sure that he will agree that care cannot and should not be measured as a chargeable unit. May I draw his attention to a report by the Health Committee, published in June 2011, on complaints and litigation? How will he ensure that it is not just the front-line overstretched staff who must listen to patient voices but, more important, the senior management?”

The Prime Minister replied:

“The hon. Lady is right. What strikes me as I meet hospital managers is when they say that at their board meetings they take patient care, clinical standards and safety standards first. That is the right thing to do because if a hospital is not safe, if it is not clean and if it is not caring for people, it is not doing its job—never mind whether it is meeting its targets or whether the numbers add up. That is absolutely at the heart of this question and that is one of the things that needs to change.”

You can read the exchange in Hansard here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130206/debtext/130206-0001.htm#13020677001027

The Public Inquiry produced by Robert Francis QC on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust can be read here: http://www.midstaffspublicinquiry.com/report