Jeremy Hunt responds to the Francis Inquiry into Mid Staffs

‘The quality of patient care will be put at the heart of the NHS in an overhaul of the health and care system in response to the Francis Inquiry.’ This is how the Department of Health opens its press release about Jeremy Hunt’s response to the Francis Inquiry, delivered in the Commons this afternoon. The government plans to create a ‘culture of compassion’. It will do this by introducing:

1). An ‘Ofsted-style ratings for hospitals and care homes’. The new chief inspector of hospitals will be the NHS’s ‘whistle-blower-in-chief’. He will also assess complaints procedures and ensure that recruitment is adequate. The chief inspector of care will ensure that the same standards are applied across the system. Those institutions which fail will be named and shamed.

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2). A ‘statutory duty of candour for organisations which [will] provide care and are registered with the Care Quality Commission’.