The Francis Independent Review- Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry

Between 2005 and 2008 conditions of appalling care were able to flourish in the main hospital serving the people of Stafford and its surrounding area. During this period this hospital was managed by a Board which succeeded in leading its Trust1 (the Mid Staffordshire General Hospital NHS Trust) to foundation trust (FT) status. The Board was one which had largely replaced its predecessor because of concerns about the then NHS Trust’s performance. In preparation for its application for FT status, the Trust had been scrutinised by the local Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and the Department of Health (DH). Monitor (the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) had subjected it to assessment. It appeared largely compliant with the then applicable standards regulated by the Healthcare Commission (HCC). It had been rated by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) for its risk management. Local scrutiny committees and public involvement groups detected no systemic failings. In the end, the truth was uncovered in part by attention being paid to the true implications of its mortality rates, but mainly because of the persistent complaints made by a very determined group of patients and those close to them. This group wanted to know why they and their loved ones had been failed so badly.