The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was a NHS foundation trust which managed two hospitals in Staffordshire, England:
- Stafford Hospital - acute hospital with approximately 350 inpatient beds, opened in 1983, Now renamed County Hospital.
- Cannock Chase Hospital (52°41′33″N 2°01′51″W / 52.6925°N 2.0307°W) - approximately 115 inpatient beds, opened in 1991
The trust was awarded NHS foundation trust status on 1 February 2008. Previously it was named Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust, which was created in 1993.
The trust served about 320,000 people from Stafford, Cannock, Rugeley and the surrounding rural areas. About 3,000 employees worked in the two hospitals.[1]
The trust provided services which were formerly commissioned by South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust, which was created in 2006 by a merger of four primary care trusts: Burntwood, Lichfield & Tamworth, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire and South Western Staffordshire. The trust was in the area covered by the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority.[1]
In 2012, following a £19.9 million annual deficit, the regulator, Monitor, sent in a team to resolve the trust's poor financial situation. This could involve a solvent restructuring of the trust, or to place the trust in special administration.[2] In February 2013 it was confirmed that the process of putting the trust into administration had begun.[3]
In October 2014 it was announced that the Trust would be dissolved with Stafford Hospital to be renamed County Hospital and taken over by the newly constituted University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust. Cannock Chase Hospital would be taken over by Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust.[4]
Stafford Hospital scandal
editThe trust was at the centre of the major Stafford Hospital scandal in which many press reports claimed that because of the substandard care between 400 and 1200 more patients died between 2005 and 2008 than would be expected for the type of hospital,[5] though in fact such ‘excess’ death statistics did not appear in the final Healthcare Commission report.[6] The 2010 independent investigation report recommended that the regulator, Monitor, de-authorise the Foundation Trust status.[7] In June 2010, the new government announced that a full public inquiry was expected to report in March 2011.[8] The final report was published on 6 February 2013, making 290 recommendations.[9][10]
Dissolution
editIt was reported in December 2013 that trust would be dissolved by the end of 2014 with staff transferred to either North Staffordshire or Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. Accident and emergency services would remain open and a midwife-led maternity unit opened at Stafford Hospital, but consultant-led obstetrics services would move to University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust.[11] The Trust subsequently reported that senior staff had left and it was unable to recruit permanent replacements so elective surgery would be stopped in order to concentrate resources on urgent care.[12]
Some services will move from Stafford, under the control of Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. The cost of the changes is "well over £300m". Mark Hackett, chief executive of the new trust, said the figures were "considerably more" than first estimated. Part of the money will be used to refurbish the A&E department at Stafford, in order to double the space and reduce overcrowding.[13]
In 2017 the two trusts which took over services - Stoke and Wolverhampton - were still looking for extra financial support as the transition funding of more than £300m had expired. Both were in deficit. Ernst & Young were paid more than £3 million for their services during the trust special administration process.[14]
The organisation was not formally abolished until November 2017. It paid out more than £1 million in clinical negligence compensation and £540,000 on court fines and legal fees.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Investigation into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (PDF), Healthcare Commission, March 2009, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-1-84562-220-6, retrieved 6 May 2009
- ^ Sarah Boseley (11 September 2012). "Mid Staffordshire NHS trust may be second to go into special administration". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ "Mid Staffs administration starts". 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "Stafford Hospital: New trust to run renamed hospital". BBC News. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ Emily Cook (18 March 2009). "Stafford hospital scandal: Up to 1,200 may have died over "shocking" patient care". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- ^ Robert Francis QC (24 February 2010), "Volume I, Section G: Mortality statistics", Independent Inquiry into care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust January 2005 – March 2009 (PDF), The Stationery Office, p. 352, ISBN 978-0-10-296439-4, HC375-I, retrieved 9 November 2010,
it has been concluded that it would be unsafe to infer from the figures that there was any particular number or range of numbers of avoidable or unnecessary deaths at the Trust.
- ^ Robert Francis QC (24 February 2010). Robert Francis Inquiry report into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. House of Commons. ISBN 978-0-10-296439-4. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ Nick Triggle (9 June 2010). "Public inquiry into scandal-hit Stafford Hospital". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ Nick Triggle (6 February 2013). "Stafford Hospital: Hiding mistakes 'should be criminal offence'". BBC. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ Robert Francis QC (6 February 2013). Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (Report). House of Commons. ISBN 9780102981476. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "Final recommendations issued on Mid Staffs break-up". Health Service Journal. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ "Elective surgery paused and ward closed as Stafford Hospital bosses bid to tackle growing staffing crisis". Staffordshire Newsletter. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ "Stafford Hospital: New trust to run renamed hospital". BBC News. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ "Trusts need millions in extra funding for Mid Staffs dissolution". Health Service Journal. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ "Mid Staffs finally abolished after decade of scandal". Health Service Journal. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
External links
edit- Hilton, Claire. (26 August 2016). Whistle-blowing in the National Health Service since the 1960s History and Policy. Retrieved 11 May 2017.[1]