Jeremy Hunt calls for a ‘profound transformation in the culture’ of the NHS

Jeremy Hunt has delivered his response to the Francis Report. It was as expected: monthly staffing figures on a ward-by-ward basis, minimum standards of safety for staff levels, a national safety website, and further safeguards against ministerial interference in independent regulation.

The centrepiece of Hunt’s statement was the introduction of a ‘statutory duty of candour’ on institutions to report serious failings so that they may be swiftly corrected. As Hunt said, the signal is clear: ‘if in doubt, report an incident and tell the patient’. The penalties of not doing so are severe: Hunt is consulting on whether to reduce hospitals’ indemnity in the event of a slow or partial response to avoidable harm, death or serious injury.